Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle

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Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle

32nd President of Chile
In office March 11, 1994 – March 11, 2000
Preceded by	Patricio Aylwin
Succeeded by	Ricardo Lagos

Born	June 24, 1942 Santiago, Chile
Political party	Christian Democrat
Spouse	Marta Larraechea Bolívar

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (born June 24, 1942) is a Chilean politician and civil engineer. He served as President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He is currently president of the Chilean Senate.

Frei was born in Santiago to Eduardo Frei Montalva (former president of Chile) and María Ruiz-Tagle Jiménez. He received all his schooling at the Luis Campino Institute. He then attended the University of Chile, where he graduated as a Civil Engineer, specializing in hydraulics. After graduation, he followed advanced courses in management in Italy.

Frei took his first steps in politics while at the university, where he was a student leader. In 1958, he joined the Christian Democrat party, and in 1964 participated actively in his father's successful presidential campaign. Between 1969 and 1988 he concentrated on the exercise of his profession, as one of the partners of Sigdo Koppers S.A., the largest engineering company in Chile.

In 1988 Frei founded and promoted the Comité Pro Elecciones Libres ("Committee for the promotion of free elections"). In 1989 he was elected Senator for Santiago, obtaining the highest amount of votes in the whole country. In the Senate, he presided over the Treasury and Budget commission, and was a member of the Housing commission.

In 1992 Frei participated in the primary presidential elections of his coalition, where he defeated Ricardo Lagos, and then went on to win the presidential elections in 1993. He took office on March 11, 1994 and was succeeded by Lagos in 2000. Frei assumed then, as a former President, a seat as senator-for-life in Congress. Given that Constitutional reforms in 2005 abolished life senators starting in 2006, Frei ran for an elected Senate seat in the December 2005 parliamentary elections and was victorious. On March 11, 2006 Frei became President of the Senate, like his father, who was also President of the Senate after being President of the Republic.

Preceded by Andrés Zaldívar	President of the Christian Democrat Party 1991-1993	Succeeded by Gutenberg Martínez Ocamica
Preceded by Patricio Aylwin	President of Chile 1994–2000	Succeeded by Ricardo Lagos
Preceded by Sergio Romero	President of the Senate of Chile 2006-	Succeeded by '

Presidents of Chile
Blanco Encalada \| Freire \| Pinto Díaz \| Prieto \| Bulnes \| Montt Torres \| Pérez \| Errázuriz Zañartu \| Pinto Garmendia \| Santa María \| Balmaceda \| Montt Álvarez \| Errázuriz Echaurren \| Riesco \| Montt Montt \| Barros Luco \| Sanfuentes \| Alessandri Palma \| Figueroa \| Ibáñez del Campo \| Montero \| Aguirre Cerda \| Ríos \| González Videla \| Alessandri Rodríguez \| Frei Montalva \| Allende \| Pinochet \| Aylwin \| Frei Ruiz-Tagle \| Lagos \| Bachelet