Enrique Villegas Encalada
Enrique Villegas Encalada (15 July 1839 – 14 July 1916) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as a member of the Senate of Chile and as a minister of state under President Germán Riesco.
A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he represented Antofagasta in the Senate from 1897 to 1903 and Coquimbo from 1906 to 1912.
Early life
Villegas was born in Quillota on 15 July 1839 to Francisco Villegas and Úrsula Encalada y Gaete. He married Filomena Echiburú, with whom he had eleven children.
From an early age, Villegas was involved in mining and commercial activities. He worked at the Chañarcillo silver mines and later joined the firm Escobar, Ossa y Cía., eventually becoming its general representative. He subsequently moved to the mining district of Caracoles.
In 1872, the Chilean government appointed him consul in Antofagasta, then part of Bolivia. He established the Sociedad Patria to provide legal assistance to Chilean residents in the region and also organized an arbitration tribunal to resolve disputes among them. The Bolivian government subsequently withdrew his exequatur.
During the War of the Pacific, Villegas was appointed delegate of Caracoles, a position he retained until the Chilean Civil War of 1891. He was appointed the first intendant of Antofagasta in 1889.
Political career
During the Chilean Civil War of 1891, Villegas remained loyal to President José Manuel Balmaceda and moved to Santiago with the military forces under his command. Following the defeat of Balmaceda's forces at the battles of Concón and Placilla, he returned to northern Chile in 1892 and participated in the organization of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Villegas was elected to the Senate of Chile for Antofagasta for the 1897–1903 legislative term. During this period, he served on the permanent committee for war and navy.
During the presidency of Germán Riesco, Villegas was appointed Minister of Finance on 18 November 1901. He remained in office until 6 May 1902.
Under the same administration, he served as Minister of Industry and Public Works from 1 August to 21 October 1905.
Villegas returned to the Senate as representative for Coquimbo for the 1906–1912 legislative term. He served on the permanent committees for war and navy, which he chaired during the second part of his term, and for worship and colonization. He was also a substitute member of the committee for industry and public works and a member of the Conservative Commission during the 1911–1912 recess.
After completing his senatorial term in 1912, Villegas withdrew from political life and settled in Viña del Mar, where he died on 14 July 1916, one day before his 77th birthday.