Francisco Landa
Francisco Landa Zárate (24 October 1866 – 28 June 1945) was a Chilean physician, surgeon and politician who was a member of the Democratic Party.
He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and held several ministerial portfolios under President Juan Luis Sanfuentes and provisional president Abraham Oyanedel.
Early life
Landa was born in Santiago, Chile, on 24 October 1866, the son of Francisco de Paula Landa and Beatriz Zárate. He received his primary education at the Colegio del Salvador de Rozas Carreño and completed his secondary education at the Instituto Nacional. He subsequently studied at the School of Medicine of the University of Chile, qualifying as a physician and surgeon on 20 March 1893. His thesis was entitled Relación que existe entre la facultad respiratoria y en la acumulación de gases en el organismo.
He married Adelaida Terroni, with whom he had three children: Francisco, Beatriz and Agustín.
Medical career
Landa practised medicine and became known for providing medical assistance in circumstances that led contemporaries to regard him as a philanthropist and social benefactor.
He served as a physician and surgeon with the Mulchén Regiment in 1891 and at the Legal Medical Institute from 1916 to 1918. He subsequently served as a sanitary inspector for the Municipality of Santiago in 1918, national director of the Legal Medical Institute in 1924, and a member of the Vaccination Board of Conchalí in April 1931.
At the University of Chile, Landa served as an assistant in pathological anatomy from 1892 to 1894, acting head of the midwifery course in April 1905, and professor of histology.
He was also involved in numerous professional, scientific and civic organizations, including the Asociación de Empleados de Comercio de Chile, the Centro Vasco de Santiago, the Sociedad Científica de Chile, the Sociedad Médica de Chile, the Consejo Superior de Habitaciones para Obreros, the Consejo Superior de Higiene, of which he was a member from 1894 to 1924, the Consejo de Enseñanza de Profesor de Niños, the Comisión de Enseñanza Comercial, on which he served from 1922 to 1925, the Liga contra el Alcoholismo and the Liga Chilena de Higiene Social. He also served as a director of the Unión Comercial on several occasions.
Landa contributed to several newspapers and served as director and editor of La Reforma in 1916.
Political career
Landa was a member of the Democratic Party. He served as president of the party and, in 1929, as its director-general in Talca. His first elected public office was as a member of the Santiago municipal council, on which he served from 1894 to 1897.
He was subsequently elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Santiago for the 1901–1903 legislative term. He took office on 19 April 1901, replacing Joaquín Walker Martínez. During his tenure, he served on the Finance and Industry Committee and the Charities and Worship Committee.
Under President Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Landa was appointed Minister of Industry, Public Works and Railways, serving from 18 January to 22 April 1918. Concurrently, he served as acting Minister of War and Navy from 18 to 22 February and again from 15 to 22 April 1918. He returned to the Ministry of Industry, Public Works and Railways later that year, serving from 6 September to 25 November 1918.
During 1918, Landa also promoted a proposal for the issuance of bonds to finance the establishment of industrial education in Chile. The proposal was approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to the National Congress.
In 1924, he served as rector of the Universidad Popular del Trabajo. Under the provisional presidency of Abraham Oyanedel, Landa was appointed Minister of Labour, serving from 3 October to 24 December 1932.
Landa died in his native Santiago on 28 June 1945.