Eugenio Puga Fischer
Eugenio Puga Fisher (1896–1962) was a Chilean lawyer, educator and politician.
A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Minister of Justice on several occasions between 1944 and 1951. He was also Superintendent of Banks from 1946 until his death in 1962.
Early life and family
Puga was the son of Julio Puga Borne and Lucía Fisher Rubie. His brother, Ruperto Puga, also pursued a political career, serving as Minister of Justice and later as Minister of Labour in 1950.
In 1920, Puga married María Domínguez Casanueva. They had seven children: Eugenio, Lucy, Julio, José Manuel, Rosa, María de la Paz and Isabel. Through his daughter, he was the maternal grandfather of Arturo Prado Puga, who became a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile in 2017.
Puga died in Santiago, Chile, in 1962.
Education
Puga qualified as a lawyer in 1917. His law thesis, La fiscalización de la administración financiera de Chile, was published by Imprenta Universitaria.
He subsequently studied at the University of Chile to become a secondary-school teacher specialising in Spanish, receiving his qualification in 1925. His thesis was entitled Zorobabel Rodríguez como novelista.
Public career
Puga taught Spanish at the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the University of Chile. He also taught public finance at the university's Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, now the Faculty of Law, University of Chile.
In 1925, he served as secretary of the commission responsible for reforming Chile's General Banking Law. The commission formed part of the financial reforms associated with the mission headed by Princeton University economist Edwin W. Kemmerer.
Puga served as Minister of Justice on several occasions, holding the portfolio in 1944–1945, 1946, 1947–1948 and 1950–1951.
On 18 December 1946, Puga became Superintendent of Banks, succeeding Ramón Meza Barros. His appointment was made by Supreme Decree No. 4996 of the Ministry of Finance, dated 13 December 1946, and was subsequently communicated in Circular No. 360. He remained Superintendent of Banks until his death in 1962.
As a politician, Puga was an active member of the Democratic Party.