Patricio Aylwin was the 30th president of Chile and the first president to be elected after the absolute rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet, and his election marked the Chilean transition to democracy in 1990.
17 Facts About Patricio Aylwin
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Patricio Aylwin, the eldest of the five children of Miguel Patricio Aylwin and Laura Azocar, was born in Vina del Mar An excellent student, he enrolled in the Law School of the University of Chile where he became a lawyer, with the highest distinction, in 1943.
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Patricio Aylwin served as professor of administrative law, first at the University of Chile and at the School of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
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Patricio Aylwin was professor of civic education and political economy at the National Institute.
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Patricio Aylwin is credited, to some degree, with trying to find a peaceful solution to the country's political crisis.
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Patricio Aylwin was president of the Christian Democrats until 1976, and after the death of the party's leader, Eduardo Frei, in 1982, he led his party during the military dictatorship.
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In 1982, Patricio Aylwin was elected vice president of the Christian Democrats.
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Patricio Aylwin was among the first to advocate acceptance of the Constitution as a reality in order to facilitate the return to democracy.
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Patricio Aylwin was elected president of the Republic on 14 December 1989.
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Patricio Aylwin's administration initiated direct municipal elections, the first of which were held in June 1992.
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Patricio Aylwin did attempt to bring to justice those in the military who committed abuses.
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The Patricio Aylwin Government did much to reduce poverty and inequality during its time in office.
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Patricio Aylwin was succeeded in 1994 by the election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, the son of the late President Eduardo Frei Montalva.
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Patricio Aylwin was president of the Corporation for Democracy and Justice, a non-profit organization he founded to develop approaches to eliminating poverty and to strengthen ethical values in politics.
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Patricio Aylwin received honorary degrees from universities in Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, and the United States, as well as seven Chilean universities.
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On 18 December 2015, Patricio Aylwin was hospitalized in Santiago after suffering a cranial injury at home.
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Patricio Aylwin died on 19 April 2016, aged 97 from natural causes from respiratory insufficiency.