Gaspar Toro
Gaspar Toro Hurtado (30 May 1848 – 14 February 1933) was a Chilean lawyer, writer, journalist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and twice as Minister of Justice and Public Instruction.
He served both of his ministerial terms under President Jorge Montt, first in 1892 and again from 1895 to 1896.
Early life
Toro was born in Melipilla on 30 May 1848 to Pedro Pablo Toro Fuenzalida and Teresa Hurtado Gallardo. He studied at the Instituto Nacional and later law at the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 25 June 1870.
From an early age, he was involved in literature and education and worked as a history teacher at the Instituto Nacional. In 1876, he served as secretary of the Chilean legation in Argentina. The following year, he traveled through Europe with historian Diego Barros Arana, and after returning to Chile published a work concerning Barros Arana's diplomatic mission to Argentina.
Toro married Luisa Barros, with whom he had children.
Political career
Toro entered the Chamber of Deputies as substitute deputy for Melipilla for the 1879–1882 legislative period. He served as provisional secretary of the Chamber in May 1879 and subsequently as its secretary. He was reelected as substitute deputy for Melipilla for the 1882–1885 period, again serving as secretary of the Chamber.
In 1888, Toro was elected deputy for Tarapacá and took his seat on 3 July of that year. Alongside his parliamentary activities, he was appointed secretary of the Faculty of Humanities and participated in the foundation of the Club del Progreso in Santiago, where he delivered lectures on Chilean parliamentarism.
During the presidency of Jorge Montt, Toro was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Instruction, serving from 14 March to 11 June 1892. He succeeded Juan Castellón Larenas and was replaced by Máximo del Campo Yávar.
Toro returned to the same ministry on 24 November 1895, succeeding Mariano Sánchez Fontecilla. He remained in office until the end of Montt's presidency on 18 September 1896 and was succeeded by Adolfo Ibáñez Gutiérrez under the incoming administration of Federico Errázuriz Echaurren.
Outside politics, Toro was active as a writer and journalist. He wrote a history of Chile and the Americas used in schools, served as an editor of La Libertad Electoral in 1885, and contributed to several literary and historical publications. He was also associated with the Círculo de La Ilustración, the Academia de Leyes and the Ateneo de Santiago.
Toro died in Santiago on 14 February 1933.