The former president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, who served two terms, passed away at the age of 74 in a helicopter accident.
Initial reports state that Piñera was operating a helicopter with three individuals on board above Lago Ranco, a lake in the southern part of Chile where he owned a residence. However, there is currently no additional information available about the event.
“We offer our condolences to the family of the former president, as well as to all those who were close to him and to the Chilean people. Sebastián Piñera served as Chile’s democratic president twice,” stated Carolina Tohá, Chile’s interior minister, announcing Piñera’s passing at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Piñera’s remains have been found. The trio of passengers managed to swim to land.
Piñera’s team released a statement expressing gratitude for the “enormous display of love and worry” from the public.
Tohá stated that Piñera will receive “all of the honors and recognition befitting a republican leader.”
A state funeral will be granted to him and there will be a period of national mourning. On Thursday, a wake will take place at the former congress building in Santiago, the capital of Chile.
The economist and billionaire businessman, who received his education from Harvard, held the position of centre-right president for two consecutive terms, first from 2010 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2022.
After becoming wealthy by introducing credit card technology to Chile during the 1980s, he obtained significant shares in an airline, a television station, and one of the largest football clubs in the country.
As a senator, Piñera opposed the prolongation of Gen Augusto Pinochet’s oppressive dictatorship in the crucial 1988 vote that ousted the dictator from authority. He also established himself as a prominent figure in the effort to modernize the conservative wing of Chilean politics.
In 1990, after democracy was reestablished, Piñera was chosen to serve as a senator for a district in Santiago, Chile. He held this position until 1998.
In 2005, he was unsuccessful in his bid for the presidency, losing to the centre-left Michelle Bachelet, who became Chile’s first female president. However, in 2009, he won the presidency by a narrow margin.
Piñera embarked on two terms characterized by economic expansion, natural calamities, and societal turmoil.
From 2010 to 2014, he gained recognition as a proactive leader with a competitive drive.
As a candidate, he aimed to revitalize Chile’s right wing, which had been associated with Pinochet’s regime. He successfully led the country to experience quick economic progress and significantly decrease unemployment rates.
He gained recognition for his actions following the devastating 2010 earthquake that claimed 525 lives. He also received widespread media attention for leading the successful rescue of 33 miners who were trapped in the Atacama desert during the same year.
In Piñera’s second term as president, spanning from 2018 to 2022, there were extensive demonstrations against inequality in October 2019. These protests resulted in allegations of human rights abuses, as well as harsh suppression of protestors.
In November of that same year, the government reluctantly made a commitment to create a new constitution in order to calm the ongoing turmoil.
In the beginning of 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic emerged, his administration enforced strict limitations on mobility and chose to prioritize securing supplies of Chinese SinoVac vaccines.
Chile has earned recognition for its successful implementation of COVID-19 vaccinations, ranking among the top five countries in the world for vaccination rates.
Pinera and Cecilia Morel were married and had a family of four children.
Source: theguardian.com
