Aníbal Rodríguez

Who was Aníbal Rodríguez?

Aníbal Rodríguez Herrera was a Chilean political figure, who served several times as minister.

He was born the son of Juan Esteban Rodríguez Segura and of Ignacia Herrera. While he was still a university student, from 1886 to 1891, he worked as a civil servant on the Ministry of the Interior. He graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Chile on January 9, 1891. He married Rosa Velasco Martínez, and after her death, he married for a second time her sister, Graciela Velasco Martínez.

In 1895 he was named secretary of the Council of State, position he held until 1899, when he became a temporary under-secretary of the Interior, where he worked very closely with future President Pedro Montt. Between 1901 and 1902, he was also Intendant of Tarapacá. While there, he also worked as a teacher at the Liceo de Iquique. In 1902, he returned to his former position at the ministry, which he maintained until 1906, when he resigned his position in order to run for Congress.

He joined Montt's National Party and was elected a deputy for Temuco and Imperial. President Pedro Montt appointed him Minister of War and Navy on August 29, 1908, a position he maintained until January 22, 1909.