Enrique Méndez Carrasco

Enrique Méndez Carrasco (Viña del Mar, 26 July 1917 – 1999) was a Chilean civil servant and politician who served as Minister of Lands and Colonisation from July to November 1957 during the second administration of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.

Early life

Méndez was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on 26 July 1917, the son of Carlos Méndez and Elena Carrasco. He received his primary education at the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones de Santiago and his secondary education at the Liceo Miguel Luis Amunátegui in Santiago.

He married Carmen Velasco Guerrero, with whom he had four children: María del Pilar, Carmen Luz, Ana Bernardita, and Enrique Rodrigo.

Political career

Méndez entered public service in 1933, during the administration of President Arturo Alessandri, working at the Intendancy of Santiago. In 1936, he joined the Caja de Crédito Popular, and the following year became secretary-general of the Traffic Department of the Compañía de Tracción Eléctrica de Santiago.

In 1945, during the presidency of Juan Antonio Ríos, Méndez joined the Empresa de Transportes Colectivos del Estado (ENTC). The following year, the Chilean government sent him to Argentina to study the organisation of Buenos Aires's public transport system. He became head of the ENTC's Traffic Department in 1948 and, in 1952, was a member of the Chilean delegation to the fourth transport conference of the International Labour Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. From 1953 to 1954, he served as general manager of the Caja de Empleados Públicos.

A member of the Agrarian Labor Party (PAL), Méndez was appointed Minister of Lands and Colonisation by President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo on 9 July 1957. He remained in office until 30 November of that year.

Méndez died in 1999.