Aniceto Vergara Albano (1833 – 29 March 1909) was a Chilean lawyer, writer, diplomat and Liberal politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Colonization under President Domingo Santa María, represented Chile in several diplomatic missions, and was a member of both the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and the Senate of Chile.
Education Vergara was born in Talca to Antonio Vergara Donoso and Tránsito Albano Cruz. He married Javiera Clark Quintana, with whom he had one son.
He received his secondary education at the Liceo de Talca and the Instituto Nacional. On 15 March 1850, he enrolled in the course on the law of nations offered by the university section of the Instituto Nacional. He later graduated in law from the University of Chile and was admitted to practice as a lawyer on 26 June 1855. His thesis, El juri en Chile, was subsequently published in the Anales de la Universidad de Chile.
Vergara practiced law in Santiago. On 13 July 1863, he became a member of the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences of the state university. He also pursued literary activities and was eventually appointed a corresponding member of the Royal Spanish Academy.
Public and diplomatic career Between 1856 and 1857, Vergara served as a substitute rapporteur of the Santiago Court of Appeals. While serving as deputy for Curicó, he was sent by the Chilean government to Bolivia in 1866 as minister plenipotentiary. During this diplomatic assignment, he signed the treaty of accession to the Peruvian–Chilean alliance at Ayacucho on 19 March 1869. He returned to Chile in 1870.
In 1873 and 1874, he served as drafting secretary for the proposed Military Code. He was also appointed to the commission responsible for opening bids for the sale of one thousand tons of guano on 14 October 1882. From 1882 to 1886, he served as superintendent of the Santiago Mint.
Under President Domingo Santa María, Vergara was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Colonization on 1 February 1884. He continued to hold the portfolio during 1885, including from 24 February until 3 September of that year. During his tenure, he was responsible for settling outstanding accounts and other matters arising from the War of the Pacific.
From 30 March 1886 to 27 March 1888, Vergara was a member of the supervisory board of the Caja de Ahorros de Empleados Públicos. In 1888, he became director of the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario, a position he held until 1891.
President José Manuel Balmaceda appointed him Chilean minister plenipotentiary to Spain and to the Holy See, serving in diplomatic capacities during 1889, 1890 and 1891.
Vergara later entered the judiciary. He was appointed a judge of the Santiago Court of Appeals on 27 April 1897 and a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile on 6 September 1905. He retired from the Supreme Court in 1907.
Political career A member of the Liberal Party, Vergara was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Chile as deputy for Curicó for the 1864–1867 legislative term. During this period, he sat on the Permanent Commission on Elections and Qualification of Petitions.
He returned to the Chamber as deputy for Talca for the 1870–1873 term and served on the Permanent Commission on Education and Charity. He also participated in the Constituent Congress of 1870, which was convened to consider reforms to the Constitution of 1833.
Vergara subsequently represented Chillán for two consecutive terms, from 1876 to 1879 and from 1879 to 1882. During both terms, he was a member of the Permanent Commission on Constitution, Legislation and Justice. He also served on the Conservative Commission during the congressional recesses of 1877–1878, 1879–1880 and 1880–1881.
In 1882, Vergara was elected senator for Colchagua for the 1882–1888 term. He served on the Permanent Commission on Constitution, Legislation and Justice and as a substitute member of the Permanent Commission on Finance and Industry. He was also a member of the Conservative Commission during the recesses of 1882–1883 and 1883–1884.
As a member of the Senate, Vergara was appointed a councillor of state by decree on 4 June 1888. According to his parliamentary biography, he attended the Council from 9 June 1888 until 2 November 1889 and also records a period of service from 17 November 1881 to 6 June 1882.
Vergara was elected senator for Malleco for the 1888–1894 term, serving as a substitute member of the Permanent Commission on Government and Foreign Relations. He subsequently accepted an office that was incompatible with his senatorial mandate and was replaced by his substitute, José Bunster.
He was also elected to the Constituent Congress of 1891 as a senator, for the period from 15 April to 18 August 1891, but did not take his seat.
Vergara died in Santiago on 29 March 1909, aged 76.
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External links BCN Profile