Background
Antonio Varas was born on 13 June 1817 in Cauquenes.
Antonio Varas was born on 13 June 1817 in Cauquenes.
Varas received his law degree at the University of Chile in 1842.
First elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1843, he remained there (except for the period 1849-1852) until elected to the Senate in 1876. He died a senator. He served as presiding officer of both the Chamber and the Senate. He was in the cabinets of Presidents Manuel Bulnes Prieto, Manuel Montt and Aníbal Pinto, holding the portfolios of Justice, Interior, Foreign Relations, and War and Navy.
Varas was the closest political aide and adviser of President Montt, playing a particular role in Montt’s quarrel with the church, which led to the formation of the National Party in 1857. Although Varas was nominated by that party for president in 1861, he refused to run. He was leader of the National Party at the time of his death, President Montt having predeceased him six years before.