Luis Correa Prieto

Luis Correa Prieto (Santiago, 3 January 1910 – Santiago, 18 January 1996) was a Chilean businessman, farmer, and politician who served as Minister of Economy and Commerce from 1957 to 1958 during the second administration of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.

Early life

Correa was born in Santiago, Chile, on 3 January 1910, one of seven children of Rebeca Prieto Torres and Luis Correa Vergara, a farmer who had served as Minister of Agriculture during the vice-presidency of Luis Barros Borgoño.

He attended the Liceo Alemán de Santiago and the Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, before studying law for two years at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

On 4 June 1938, he married Carmen Espínola Sanfuentes in Santiago. They had four children.

Political career

Correa began his career in agriculture and commerce. He was involved in Sociedad Comercial Andes, a seed-processing business established with his father, and owned agricultural land in Los Andes. He subsequently worked in agricultural produce trading and exporting, serving as vice-president of the Chilean Exporters' Association and president of the Cámara de Comerciantes de Frutos del País.

Politically unaffiliated, Correa was appointed Minister of Economy and Commerce by President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo on 28 October 1957. He remained in office until the end of Ibáñez's administration on 3 November 1958. From 19 to 30 September 1958, he concurrently served as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Correa later served as president of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce from 1968. He also wrote on economic and political affairs; his works included Economía y política. Aspectos negativos de la intervención económica; fracaso de una experiencia (1955) and El presidente Ibáñez: la política y los políticos (1962).

Correa died in Santiago on 18 January 1996, aged 86. A commercial secondary school in Recoleta was subsequently named Liceo Comercial Luis Correa Prieto in his honour.