Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (Spanish pronunciation: [eˈðwaɾðo fɾej monˈtalβa]; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the Senate, and the 28th president of Chile from 1964 to 1970. His eldest son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, also became president of Chile (1994–2000).
Said political party supported the Armed Forces intervention to remove his successor Salvador Allende from office in 1973, after the Chamber of Deputies, on 22 August 1973, accused Allende of violating the Constitution. He was later a vocal opponent of the Augusto Pinochet regime. On 22 January 1982, Frei died in Santiago, Chile, following surgery. Assassination was suspected by some but has never been proven.
On 18 August 2023, the Supreme Court ruled out the assassination charges and declared innocent all those accused.
Eduardo Frei Montalva was born in Santiago on 16 January 1911, the son of Eduard Frei Schlinz, a Germanic immigrant born in Feldkirch, Austria (whose mother was Bavarian and his father was Swiss), and Victoria Montalva Martínez. In 1914, his family moved to Lontué, where his father had been hired as an accountant at a winery. In addition, his other two siblings, Arturo and Irene, were born. He attended the Escuela Pública de Lontué (Public School of Lontué). The winery San Pedro is still well known in Lontué and Molina 200 km south of Santiago and was founded in 1865 by the brothers Bonifacio and José Gregorio Correa Albano.
In 1919 the family returned to Santiago and Eduardo, as a young man, entered the boarding school Seminario Conciliar de Santiago where he remained until 1922. In 1923, he entered Instituto de Humanidades Luis Campino, where he graduated in 1928, at the age of 17.
As an 18-year-old, he entered Universidad Católica School of Law in 1929. For two years, he had been visiting María, the sister of his friend, Alfredo Ruiz-Tagle. He attended high school and went on to study law, graduating as a lawyer in 1933. He married María Ruiz-Tagle with whom he had 7 children. His eldest son, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, was President of Chile from 1994 to 2000.
He began his political career in the Conservative Party, but was among a group of young men who founded their own party in 1938: the Falange Nacional. He was minister of Public Works in 1945, and in 1949, Frei was elected senator for Atacama and Coquimbo. The same year he published "Historia de los Partidos Políticos Chilenos" ("History of Chilean Political Parties") in collaboration with Albert Edwards Vives. In 1950, he traveled to New York as a UN delegate. In 1952, at 41 years of age, Frei Montalva announced his first candidacy in the presidential elections.
The 1952 election was won by Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. Later, President Ibañez requested Frei to organize an executive committee. However, this never came to be. In 1954, the UN appointed him President of the Commission in charge of elaborating the report of the Conference of Chancellors held in Rio de Janeiro. Some of its members were: Carlos Lleras Restrepo, former President of Colombia, and Raúl Prebisch director of ECLAC. The report served as a basis for subsequent studies on economic development and the integration of Latin America. In 1956 he was elected Senator in Santiago by first majority.
On 27 July 1957, the Falange Nacional became the Christian Democratic Party of Chile, and he became the undisputed leader. Frei Montalva was offered once more the candidacy for president of the Republic in the 1958 elections. Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez was elected president while Eduardo Frei Montalva took only third place.
During these years he published three more books: "Sentido y Forma de una Política" ("Meaning and Shape of Politics"), "La Verdad Tiene Su Hora" ("Truth Has Its Time"), and "Pensamiento y Acción" ("Thought and Action"). In 1960, he lectured at conference “The Mission of Universities in Latin America” in Montevideo; a widely promoted conference at that time. In 1961, he was elected President of the First World Christian Democratic Party Congress, held in Santiago, Chile. The congress was attended by delegations from throughout Latin America, European, North American, and African countries. That year he was invited as special guest to a seminar on the problems of Developing Nations, held at Oxford University. The seminar was attended by delegates from all over the world.
Between 1960 and 1962, he lectured at Columbia University on problems in Latin America. In 1962, he gave a conference at Notre Dame University on the development and the integration of Latin American countries. He ran for president again in 1964. Declassified documents show that from 1962 through 1964, the CIA spent a total of $2.6 million to finance his presidential campaign and spent $3 million in anti-Allende propaganda "to scare voters away from Allende's FRAP coalition". The CIA considered its role in the victory of Frei a great success.
That year he was elected with his "Revolución en Libertad" ("Revolution in Liberty") slogan by a large margin (56%), defeating Socialist candidate Salvador Allende who only received 39% of the vote, but who subsequently won the 1970 Chilean presidential election.
Frei's administration began many reforms in Chilean society. "Promoción Popular" (Social Promotion), "Reforma Agraria" (Agrarian Reform), "Reforma Educacional" (Education Reform), and "Juntas de Vecinos" (Neighborhood Associations) were some of his main projects. He also took measures to rationalize drug supply. On 4 September 1964, having one of the highest turnouts in Chilean history, Frei Montalva was elected President of the Republic of Chile. He took office two months later, on November 4.
The Frei presidency did much to tackle poverty, as characterised by the growing share of wages as a proportion of GNP. By the end of the Frei presidency, the wage and salaried sector received close to 51% of GNP, compared with 42% at the end of the Alessandri presidency. This positive redistribution of wealth was encouraged by government policies, particularly in the rural sector, where wages rose by 40% in real terms. Between 1964 and 1970, total enrollment in education increased by 46%, while around 250,000 houses were built, mostly for the poor.
Frei's administration also introduced a wealth tax and carried out a property tax reassessment in order to make the taxation system more progressive. Taxes as a percentage of GNP increased 12.8% in 1964 to 21.2% in 1970. The social reforms introduced by Frei's government led to a huge increase in public expenditure, which rose as a proportion of GNP from 35.7% in 1965 to 46.9% in 1970. Expenditures on education, agriculture, and housing rose went up considerably, with spending on housing increasing by 70% in real terms in 1965 alone.
During Frei's six years in office, an average of 40,000 housing units were constructed each year, and a total of 100,000 lots were assigned. Investments in primary care clinics and hospitals were also carried out, with 20 clinics and 16 hospitals built between 1965 and 1969.
In 1965, he started a presidential tour through France, the United Kingdom, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy and the Vatican. During this time, he also visited countries in Latin America such as: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela; places where he delivered important speeches on international issues.
On his return, he initiated important plans involving housing, education, reforestation, land reform, health, and the nationalization of copper. The Comisión Nacional de Cultura (National Culture Commission), the Consejería Nacional de la Promoción Popular and the Juntas de Vecinos ("Neighborhood Committees") were also created.