Alejandro Reyes (politician) explained

Alejandro Reyes
Order:President of the Supreme Court
Term:1882
Predecessor:José Miguel Barriga Castro
Successor:Álvaro Covarrubias Ortúzar
Order1:Justice of the Supreme Court of Chile
Term Start1:1870
Term End1:1883
Order2:Senator
Term Start2:1870
Term End2:1882
Predecessor2:José Alejo Valenzuela Díaz
Successor2:Elías Fernández Albano
Order3:Minister of Foreign Affairs
Term Start3:1868
Term End3:1870
Predecessor3:Miguel Luis Amunátegui
Successor3:Belisario Prats
Order4:Minister of the Interior
Term Start4:1868
Term End4:1870
Predecessor4:Miguel Luis Amunátegui
Successor4:Belisario Prats
Order5:Minister of Finance
Term Start5:1864
Term End5:1869
Predecessor5:Domingo Santa María
Successor5:Melchor Concha y Toro
Order6:Deputy
Term Start6:1864
Term End6:1867
Constituency6:Itata
Predecessor6:Andrés Chacón Barry
Successor6:Nicolás Figueroa Brito
Term Start7:1858
Term End7:1861
Constituency7:Melipilla and La Victoria
Predecessor7:Miguel Barros Morán
Successor7:Manuel Briceño Ibáñez
Term Start8:1855
Term End8:1858
Constituency8:San Fernando
Predecessor8:José Bisquert de la Barrera
Successor8:Ignacio Errázuriz Salas
Term Start9:1852
Term End9:1855
Predecessor9:Juan Bello Dunn
Successor9:Nicanor Letelier Cruz
Constituency9:Los Angeles and Yungay
Birth Name:Alejandro Matías Luis Ignacio Reyes Cotapos
Birth Date:February 24, 1825
Birth Place:Santiago, Chile
Death Place:Santiago, Chile
Spouse:Hortensia Lavalle Correas
Fanny Ovalle Vicuña
Party:National

Alejandro Matías Luis Ignacio Reyes Cotapos (24 February 1825 – 8 January 1884) was a Chilean lawyer and politician.

Life and career

Reyes was born in Santiago to Ignacio de Reyes Saravia and Micaela Pérez Cotapos de la Lastra. He married twice, first to Hortensia Lavalle Correas, then Fanny Ovalle Vicuña. Reyes earned a degree in law from the University of Chile in 1845.

Throughout his political career, Reyes remained allied with Manuel Montt and Antonio Varas, whose supporters formally established the National Party in 1857. In 1849, Reyes was named an alternate member of the Chamber of Deputies from Caupolicán, but never took office. He began working for the Santiago municipal government in 1851. Reyes won his first parliamentary election the next year, taking a seat in the Chamber of Deputies as a representative of Los Ángeles and Yungay. He was reelected in 1855 from San Fernando and again in 1858, from Melipilla and La Victoria, a district of Santiago. As a legislator, Reyes served on the industry, treasury, and war committees.

Upon his return from exile in Europe in 1862, Reyes became a diplomat and helped reach treaties with Ecuador and Costa Rica. Later, Reyes aided in the drafting of the legal codes regulating commerce, civil actions, and criminal activity. He was Minister of Finance between 1864 and 1869. From 1868 to 1870, Reyes served as concurrently as interior and foreign minister. Reyes also returned to the Chamber of Deputies, representing Itata between 1863 and 1867. After his term ended, Reyes became a judge on the Santiago Appeals Court. He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Chile in 1870, and concurrently took office as a senator from Curicó. Reyes stepped down from the Senate in 1882, and relinquished his judgeship in 1883, before dying in Santiago on 8 January 1884. Outside of politics, Reyes nurtured an interest in winemaking, and started a vineyard in Buin.

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