Salvador Allende

Who is Salvador Allende?

Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as President of Chile from 1970 until his death in 1973. Born in Valparaíso, he trained as a doctor at the University of Chile and helped found the Socialist Party of Chile in 1933. He held several public offices, including Minister of Health and Senator, and ran unsuccessfully for the presidency three times before winning in 1970 as the candidate of the Popular Unity coalition. Allende became one of the first Marxists to reach the presidency of a Latin American country through open democratic elections. His government pursued the nationalization of key industries, notably copper, along with agrarian reform and expanded social programs, amid deep political polarization and economic crisis. On 11 September 1973 his government was overthrown in a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet; Allende died in the presidential palace, La Moneda, during the assault. He remains a globally significant symbol of democratic socialism.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, entry 'Salvador Allende' · Peter Winn, Weavers of Revolution (1986) · BBC News archives, coverage of the 1973 Chilean coup