Eduardo Frei Montalva

Who was Eduardo Frei Montalva?

Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and the 28th president of Chile from 1964 to 1970. His eldest son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, also became president of Chile.

Frei's Christian Democratic Party supported the Armed Forces intervention to remove his successor Salvador Allende from office in 1973, after the Chamber of Deputies, on August 22, 1973, accused Allende of violating the Constitution and called for his overthrow. He was later a vocal opponent of the Augusto Pinochet regime, which was accused of poisoning him with botulinum toxin during routine surgery.