Juan Emilio Ortiz Vega (24 June 1869 – 4 May 1939) was a Chilean military officer, engineer, and politician. He served as inspector general of the Chilean Army from 1925 to 1927 and held several ministerial positions, including Minister of War during the political upheavals of the 1920s.
Biography Ortiz was born in Copiapó on 24 June 1869. He was studying engineering when the 1891 Chilean Civil War broke out. He joined the Congressional forces in Copiapó with the rank of lieutenant and took part in the battles of Concón and Placilla. After the conflict, he remained in the army while completing his engineering studies.
He was promoted to captain in 1894 and to major in 1902. While holding the latter rank, Ortiz was sent on a military assignment to Germany and Switzerland. During his stay in Switzerland, he pursued further studies at the Swiss Federal Polytechnic.
After returning to Chile, Ortiz, by then a lieutenant colonel, successively commanded the 2nd Infantry Regiment Maipo and the Railway Regiment.
He was promoted to colonel in 1918 and to brigadier general in 1922. That year, he was appointed director of the Military Geographic Institute (IGM), a position he would hold again in 1928.
In 1924, Ortiz was appointed commander of the Army's II Division. He also served as Minister of War on two occasions, first during the period of military government that followed the 1924 Chilean coup d'état and later in 1927.
Promoted to divisional general in 1925, Ortiz was subsequently appointed inspector of engineers and aeronautics. On 11 November 1925, he became inspector general of the Chilean Army, the position then corresponding to the army's highest command. He remained in office until January 1927.
In 1927, Ortiz served as a member of the Santiago Court Martial and was appointed Minister of Public Works.
He returned to the Military Geographic Institute as its director in 1928. On 9 May of that year, he was granted definitive retirement from the Chilean Army.
Ortiz died in Santiago on 4 May 1939, aged 69.
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