José Ramón Gutiérrez
José Ramón Gutiérrez Martínez (1860 – 1933) was a Chilean lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and as a minister of state.
A member of the Conservative Party, Gutiérrez served as Minister of Industry and Public Works and later as Minister of the Interior. He also represented three constituencies in the Chamber of Deputies between 1891 and 1912.
Early life
Gutiérrez was born in Santiago in 1860 to Juan de Dios Gutiérrez and Jesús Martínez. He was the third of seven siblings. He attended the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones from 1869 to 1874 and subsequently studied law at the University of Chile. He qualified as a lawyer on 20 June 1890.
He married Carolina Alliende, with whom he had thirteen children, eleven of whom survived. Among their children were Luis Gutiérrez Alliende and José Gutiérrez Alliende, both of whom later served in the Chamber of Deputies.
Gutiérrez practiced law in Valparaíso and Santiago. He was also a professor of civil law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile from 1903 to 1920 and was appointed an honorary professor in 1931. He worked extensively in journalism, contributing to El Independiente, La Estrella de Chile and the Revista de Artes y Letras. He also worked for La Unión of Valparaíso, serving as its manager, editor and later director.
Political career
A member of the Conservative Party, Gutiérrez was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Quillota and Limache for the 1891–1894 term. During this period, he served on the permanent committee for education and public welfare.
Gutiérrez also served as the first mayor of Valparaíso. During his tenure, the municipality faced major flooding, and his administration focused on local public interests.
He served as Minister of Industry and Public Works from 21 October 1905 until 19 March 1906. Gutiérrez subsequently returned to the Chamber of Deputies as representative for Valparaíso and Casablanca for the 1906–1909 term. He served on the permanent committee for legislation and justice and chaired the permanent committee for public works.
Gutiérrez returned to Congress after being elected in a by-election for La Victoria and Melipilla for the 1909–1912 legislative term. He took his seat on 5 February 1910, replacing Ramón Rivas Ramírez, who had died in December 1909. During this term, Gutiérrez served as a substitute member of the permanent committee for foreign relations.
In 1911, he chaired a parliamentary commission on colonization that travelled to southern Chile to examine issues concerning settlement and land ownership. The commission subsequently presented proposals concerning national colonization, indigenous settlement and the establishment of a colonization tribunal.
President Ramón Barros Luco appointed Gutiérrez Minister of the Interior on 15 August 1911. He remained in office until 6 January 1912.
After his parliamentary career, Gutiérrez served as dean of the Faculty of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile from 1914 to 1920 and was appointed honorary dean in 1921. He was also a member of the Academia de Bellas Letras from its establishment in 1928 until 1931 and served as a director of the Club Hípico de Santiago.
In 1925, Gutiérrez travelled to Europe for health and study purposes. After returning to Chile, he withdrew from public life and lived in Santiago, where he devoted himself to legal studies and the preparation of a book.
Gutiérrez died in 1933.