Juan Eduardo Fuentes

Juan Eduardo Fuentes Belmar (born 24 October 1949) is a Chilean lawyer and former judge who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile from 2011 to 2024 and as president of the Supreme Court from 2022 to 2024.

Early life

Fuentes was born in Chillán, now the capital of the Ñuble Region. He attended School No. 7, San Vicente de Paul School and the Narciso Tondreau Boys' High School.

He studied law at the University of Concepción and qualified as a lawyer on 22 April 1974.

Fuentes met Marianela Garrido in Chillán and married her when he was 20 years old. They have three children, who have also pursued careers in the judiciary.

Judicial career

Fuentes began his judicial career in 1978 as a judge of the Second Civil Court of San Carlos. In 1982, he was appointed a court reporter at the Court of Appeals of Talca. The following year, he became a judge of the First Criminal Court of Valdivia, and in 1990 he was appointed a justice of the Court of Appeals of Arica.

On 6 September 2011, President Sebastián Piñera nominated Fuentes to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the retirement of Justice Margarita Herreros. On 27 September, the Senate unanimously approved his nomination. Fuentes was sworn in before the full Supreme Court on 11 November 2011 and assumed his duties that day.

President of the Supreme Court

Fuentes served as president of the Supreme Court from 6 January 2022 to 5 January 2024. He was succeeded by Ricardo Blanco Herrera.

Fuentes retired from the Supreme Court on 24 October 2024 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. In October 2025, the Supreme Court drew up a five-person shortlist of candidates to fill the vacancy created by his retirement.