Alejandro Reyes

Alejandro Matías Luis Ignacio Reyes Cotapos (24 February 1825 – 8 January 1884) was a Chilean lawyer and politician.

Alejandro Reyes
President of the Supreme Court
In office
1882
Preceded byJosé Miguel Barriga Castro
Succeeded byÁlvaro Covarrubias Ortúzar
Justice of the Supreme Court of Chile
In office
1870–1883
Senator
In office
1870–1882
Preceded byJosé Alejo Valenzuela Díaz
Succeeded byElías Fernández Albano
ConstituencyCuricó
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
1868–1870
Preceded byMiguel Luis Amunátegui
Succeeded byBelisario Prats
Minister of the Interior
In office
1868–1870
Preceded byMiguel Luis Amunátegui
Succeeded byBelisario Prats
Minister of Finance
In office
1864–1869
Preceded byDomingo Santa María
Succeeded byMelchor Concha y Toro
Deputy
In office
1864–1867
Preceded byAndrés Chacón Barry
Succeeded byNicolás Figueroa Brito
ConstituencyItata
In office
1858–1861
Preceded byMiguel Barros Morán
Succeeded byManuel Briceño Ibáñez
ConstituencyMelipilla and La Victoria
In office
1855–1858
Preceded byJosé Bisquert de la Barrera
Succeeded byIgnacio Errázuriz Salas
ConstituencySan Fernando
In office
1852–1855
Preceded byJuan Bello Dunn
Succeeded byNicanor Letelier Cruz
ConstituencyLos Angeles and Yungay
Personal details
Born
Alejandro Matías Luis Ignacio Reyes Cotapos

(1825-02-24)February 24, 1825
Santiago, Chile
DiedJanuary 8, 1884(1884-01-08) (aged 58)
Santiago, Chile
Political partyNational
Spouse(s)Hortensia Lavalle Correas
Fanny Ovalle Vicuña

Life and career

Reyes was born in Santiago to Ignacio de Reyes Saravia and Micaela Pérez Cotapos de la Lastra. He married twice, first to Hortensia Lavalle Correas, then Fanny Ovalle Vicuña. Reyes earned a degree in law from the University of Chile in 1845.

Throughout his political career, Reyes remained allied with Manuel Montt and Antonio Varas, whose supporters formally established the National Party in 1857. In 1849, Reyes was named an alternate member of the Chamber of Deputies from Caupolicán, but never took office. He began working for the Santiago municipal government in 1851. Reyes won his first parliamentary election the next year, taking a seat in the Chamber of Deputies as a representative of Los Ángeles and Yungay. He was reelected in 1855 from San Fernando and again in 1858, from Melipilla and La Victoria, a district of Santiago. As a legislator, Reyes served on the industry, treasury, and war committees.

Upon his return from exile in Europe in 1862, Reyes became a diplomat and helped reach treaties with Ecuador and Costa Rica. Later, Reyes aided in the drafting of the legal codes regulating commerce, civil actions, and criminal activity. He was Minister of Finance between 1864 and 1869. From 1868 to 1870, Reyes served as concurrently as interior and foreign minister. Reyes also returned to the Chamber of Deputies, representing Itata between 1863 and 1867. After his term ended, Reyes became a judge on the Santiago Appeals Court. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Chile in 1870, and concurrently took office as a senator from Curicó. Reyes stepped down from the Senate in 1882, and relinquished his judgeship in 1883, before dying in Santiago on 8 January 1884. Outside of politics, Reyes nurtured an interest in winemaking, and started a vineyard in Buin.

References

  • Diccionario Histórico y Biográfico de Chile; Fernando Castillo Infante, Lía Cortés y Jordi Fuentes; Editorial Zig-Zag, Santiago de Chile, 1996, page 440.
  • Alejandro Matías Luis Ignacio Reyes Cotapos Biblioteca Nacional de Chile (in Spanish)
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