Efraín Vásquez
Efraín Vásquez Guarda (1862 – 10 March 1905) was a Chilean lawyer, journalist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and as Minister of Justice and Public Instruction under President Germán Riesco.
A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he represented Llanquihue, Carelmapu and Osorno in the Chamber of Deputies from 1900 until his death in 1905.
Early life
Vásquez was born in Osorno in 1862 to José del Tránsito Vásquez Solís and Carmen de la Guarda Henríquez. He married Amelia Jaras Díaz de Valdés, with whom he had three children.
He studied at the Instituto Alemán de Osorno, the Liceo de Valdivia and the Instituto Nacional. He subsequently studied law at the University of Chile and qualified as a lawyer on 29 December 1884.
While still a student at the Instituto Nacional, Vásquez began working as a teacher. He taught at the Benjamín Franklin night school and later served as a history teacher at the Liceo de Valdivia, where he also established his law practice.
In 1889, Vásquez and Anselmo Blanlot Holley founded the newspaper El Timón. He subsequently pursued an extensive career in journalism and contributed to several newspapers.
Political career
Vásquez was appointed intendant of Arauco on 12 July 1890. He also held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the National Guard and commanded the civic artillery brigade of Lebu. He was replaced as intendant on 12 June 1891.
In 1891, Vásquez was appointed secretary of the Supreme Court of Chile. Following the victory of the forces opposed to President José Manuel Balmaceda in the 1891 Chilean Civil War, he was removed from office.
Vásquez subsequently devoted himself to journalism, contributing to La República and El Republicano. In 1895, together with several political associates, he founded El Liberal Democrático and El Diario, through which he supported the presidential candidacy of Federico Errázuriz Echaurren.
A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, Vásquez participated in the reorganization of the party and served on its early executive boards.
He was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Llanquihue, Carelmapu and Osorno for the 1900–1903 legislative term and was reelected for the same constituency for the 1903–1906 term. In Congress, he served on the permanent committees for education and welfare and for public instruction, the latter of which he also chaired.
During the presidency of Germán Riesco, Vásquez was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Instruction on 10 January 1904. He remained in office until 12 April of that year.
Outside his political career, Vásquez was also an author. In 1892, under the pseudonym Juan Pérez de Montalbán, he published Tajos y Reveses and Perfiles Parlamentarios. He later published La vuelta del gran conscripto, written in connection with the return of Claudio Vicuña. His writings also appeared in numerous periodicals and some were included in the Antología Americana.
Vásquez died in Valdivia on 10 March 1905, before completing his second parliamentary term.