Allende Gossens, << ah YEHN day GOH sehns, >> Salvador (1908-1973), was elected president of Chile in September 1970. He served in that office until 1973, when military leaders overthrew his government. The military leaders reported that Allende committed suicide during the revolt, after refusing to resign from office. Allende had been the first Marxist to be freely elected to lead a nation of the Western Hemisphere. As president, he nationalized Chile’s banks and copper mines.
Allende was born on July 26, 1908, in Valparaiso. He became involved in politics in 1926 while a medical student at the University of Chile. Allende earned an M.D. degree at that university in 1932. In 1933, he helped organize Chile’s Socialist Party. Allende was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, a house of the Chilean legislature, in 1937. He later served as Chile’s minister of health. From 1945 to 1970, Allende served in the Senate. He died on Sept. 11, 1973.
See also Chile (Socialism and military rule.) .
