Background
Francisco Antonio Pinto was born on 23 July 1775 in Santiago.
Francisco Antonio Pinto was born on 23 July 1775 in Santiago.
In 1817 Pinto participated in the independence struggle in Bolivia, and in 1820 he was sent by Supreme Director Bernardo O’Higgins to serve under General José de San Martín in Peru.
Pinto became minister of war, interior, and foreign relations in 1824. In 1827 he was elected vice president and, when President Ramón Freire Serrano resigned, became president in May 1827. He dissolved Congress, called elections for a new constituent assembly, and was elected president under the new constitution. But a bitter controversy over selection by Congress of the pipiolo nominee for vice president over two Conservatives who had more votes than he precipitated the Civil War of 1829-1830. Pinto resigned the presidency.
In 1841 Pinto was named the Liberal Party presidential candidate. He did not campaign and lost. He was subsequently elected to the Senate and was named to the Council of State by President Manuel Bulnes Prieto.