Manuel Rengifo Vial
Manuel Rengifo Vial (26 January 1830 – ?) was a Chilean lawyer and politician who served as Minister of Finance under President José Joaquín Pérez. He was also a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile between 1859 and 1876.
Education
Rengifo was born in Santiago on 26 January 1830. He was the son of former finance minister and parliamentarian Manuel Rengifo and Dolores Vial Formas, and a half-brother of politician Osvaldo Rengifo.
He studied law and qualified as a lawyer on 28 February 1856. Outside politics, Rengifo served as a military auditor and held the rank of colonel in the civic guards. He was also known as a collector of paintings, works of art and natural history specimens.
Political career
Rengifo entered the Chamber of Deputies of Chile as substitute deputy for Castro for the 1858–1861 legislative term. He formally took his seat on 19 January 1859, replacing the elected deputy José Santiago Velásquez Gómez.
He was subsequently elected substitute deputy for Valparaíso for the 1861–1864 term. Rengifo joined the Chamber on 29 August 1861 because the elected deputy, Agustín Edwards Ossandón, had not taken his seat.
Under President José Joaquín Pérez, Rengifo was appointed Minister of Finance on 1 October 1861. He remained in office until 9 July 1862.
Rengifo was elected deputy for Curicó for the 1864–1867 term and served on the Permanent Commission on War and Navy. He was reelected for the same constituency for 1867–1870 and continued on the commission. On 22 November 1867, he informed the Chamber that he could no longer attend its sessions, and his substitute, Agustín Alcérreca Villota, took his seat the following day.
Despite his withdrawal from regular attendance, Rengifo participated in the Constituent Congress of 1870, which considered reforms to the Constitution of 1833.
He returned as deputy for Santiago for the 1870–1873 term and was reelected for 1873–1876. Throughout both terms, he continued to serve on the Permanent Commission on War and Navy.