Background
He was born in Santiago, son of Arturo Frei Montalva and of Marcela Bolívar Le Fort.
He was born in Santiago, son of Arturo Frei Montalva and of Marcela Bolívar Le Fort.
Arturo Frei studied at the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones in Concepción and Santiago. Later he studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, graduating as a lawyer
As a student, he joined the Christian Democrat Party in 1957. Frei married María Beatriz Ruitort Barrenechea, and they have a son: Arturo Eduardo. Foreign a few years he was assistant professor of tax law, while also working as a lawyer at the Minister of Finance.
After the 1973 Chilean coup d"état, he retired from politics and dedicated himself to private practice, and also to running the Irene Frei Montalva foundation, which provided free daycare for children of poor families.
In 1969, he was elected deputy for Concepción, being reelected in 1973, with one of the highest majorities at the national level After the return of the democracy, Frei was elected senator in 1989 and served as chairman of the Armed Forces Committee where he developed strong links with the military.
The Progressive Union of the Centrist Center presented Frei as their candidate for the 1999 presidential elections, where Frei fared disastrously, gaining only 0.35% of the vote, the lowest percentage of any candidate since the end of the military régime.