Background
Pedro Agguire Cerda was born on 6 February 1878 in Chile. He was a man of a humble origin.
lawyer politician president public official teacher
Pedro Agguire Cerda was born on 6 February 1878 in Chile. He was a man of a humble origin.
He attended the Instituto Pedagógico and qualified as a teacher and lawyer.
A Radical Party member, he was first elected deputy in 1915 and senator in 1921. He was minister of education in 1918.
Aguirre Cerda was President Arturo Alessandri Palma's first interior minister. Under the Carlos Ibáñez del Campo dictatorship, he studied abroad and managed a rural estate, and belonged to the Radical faction opposed to the dictatorship.
During the 1930s, Aguirre Cerda opposed Radical participation in the Popular Front, but in 1938 he was the Front’s successful presidential candidate.
Aguirre Cerda died in office of natural causes.