Florencio Valdés
José Florencio Valdés Cuevas (1857 – 22 February 1932) was a Chilean lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and as a minister of state.
He served as Minister of Industry and Public Works under President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren and as Minister of the Interior under President Juan Luis Sanfuentes.
Early life
Valdés was born in Santiago in 1857 to Francisco de Borja Valdés Aldunate and Alejandra Cuevas Avaria. He studied at the Colegio San Ignacio and the Instituto Nacional before pursuing legal studies, qualifying as a lawyer on 29 November 1880.
He married Juana Ossa Armstrong, with whom he had five children.
Political career
A member of the Liberal Party, Valdés was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Linares in 1888. He was subsequently reelected for Linares, Parral and Loncomilla, representing the constituency continuously until 1906. During his parliamentary career, he participated in several permanent committees, including those dealing with government, foreign relations, finance, public works, legislation and justice. He also served as first vice president of the Chamber of Deputies in 1897.
During the Chilean Civil War of 1891, Valdés signed the act deposing President José Manuel Balmaceda and subsequently moved to Buenos Aires. He later returned to Chile and resumed his parliamentary activities.
Under President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren, Valdés was appointed Minister of Industry and Public Works, serving from 30 October 1899 to 3 August 1900. Nearly two decades later, President Juan Luis Sanfuentes appointed him Minister of the Interior in November 1919.
After his parliamentary and ministerial career, Valdés also undertook diplomatic assignments. In 1920, he traveled to Spain on a special mission to invite King Alfonso XIII to the commemorations of the discovery of the Strait of Magellan. In 1926, he served as extraordinary ambassador to Brazil for the presidential transfer of power. He largely withdrew from public life following this mission.
Valdés died at his Hualañé estate on 22 February 1932.