Radomiro Tomic facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Radomiro Tomic Romero
Ambassador of Chile to the United States
In office 4 March 1965 – 13 April 1969
President	Eduardo Frei Montalva
Preceded by	Sergio Gutiérrez Olivos
Succeeded by	Domingo Santa María Santa Cruz
Senator of the Republic of Chile
In office 15 May 1961 – 4 March 1965
President of the National Falange
In office 1946–1947
Preceded by	Tomás Reyes Vicuña
Succeeded by	Tomás Reyes Vicuña
In office 1952–1953
Personal details
Born	(1914-05-07)7 May 1914 Calama, Chile
Died	3 January 1992(1992-01-03) (aged 77) Santiago, Chile
Political party	Falange Nacional (1938–1957) Christian Democratic Party (1957–1992)
Spouse	Olaya Errázuriz Echenique ​ (m. 1940)​
Children	9; Amaya, Esteban, Carlos, Gabriel, Felipe, Blas, Olaya, Juan Cristóbal and Francisco
Alma mater	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
Profession	Lawyer and politician
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Radomiro Tomic Romero (born in Calama on May 7, 1914 – died in Santiago de Chile on January 3, 1992) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. He was of Croatian background. Tomic ran for president of Chile in the 1970 Chilean presidential election.

He studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC). He became involved in politics while at university. In 1938, he helped start the Falange Nacional (FN). This party later became the Christian Democratic Party. He was the party's president twice, from 1946–1947 and 1952–1953. Radomiro Tomic was married to Olaya Errázuriz Echenique, and they had nine children together.

He also worked in journalism. He was the director of the newspaper El Tarapacá in Iquique from 1937 to 1941. Later, he directed the Editorial del Pacífico publishing house.

Tomic served as a deputy (like a representative) for Arica, Pisagua, and Iquique from 1941 to 1949. He later became a senator. He represented Tarapacá and Antofagasta from 1950 to 1953. Then, he was a senator for Aconcagua and Valparaíso from 1961 to 1965. In 1965, he became Chile's ambassador to the United States. He held this role until April 1968.

As a political leader, Tomic believed in progressive ideas. He was the Christian Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1970. In that election, Salvador Allende won the most votes. With Tomic's support, Allende was confirmed as president by the Chilean parliament.

Tomic strongly supported Chile's control over its copper mines. He also pushed for the government to take over the copper industry. This process is known as the nationalization of copper. In 1997, a large copper mine was named Radomiro Tomic in his honor.

He passed away in 1992 in Santiago.

Early Life and Family

Radomiro Tomic was the fifth of seven children. His family had Croatian roots. His father, Esteban Tomic Dvornik, was the mayor of Calama in the 1930s.

In 1940, he married Olaya Errázuriz Echeñique in Stockholm, Sweden. They had nine children: Amaya, Esteban, Carlos, Gabriel, Felipe, Blas, Olaya, Juan Cristóbal, and Francisco. His son, Esteban, later became Chile's Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS).

He attended Colegio San Luis in Antofagasta. After high school, he studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He finished his law degree in 1941. His thesis was about international law. He received the "Grand Prize" for being the best student.

Professional Work

Radomiro Tomic had a career in journalism. From 1937 to 1941, he was the director of the newspaper El Tarapacá in Iquique. He took over this role from Eduardo Frei Montalva. Later, he directed the Editorial del Pacífico publishing house.

He also taught at the Catholic University of Chile and the Polytechnic Institute. He taught subjects like Economic Policy and Social Legislation. He was also a director for the Centros del Progreso in Tarapacá and Antofagasta.

Political Journey

Tomic started his political journey during his university years. He became president of the Law Students' Centre at the PUC. Later, he led the Students' Federation of his university.

In 1938, he co-founded the Falange Nacional (FN) with other important figures. These included Eduardo Frei Montalva and Bernardo Leighton. He served as the national president of the FN from 1946 to 1947, and again from 1952 to 1953.

He was elected as a deputy for Arica, Pisagua, and Iquique for two terms (1941-1945 and 1945–1949). As a deputy, he worked on committees for Public Education and National Defence.

Later, he became a senator for Tarapacá and Antofagasta (1950-1953). He won this seat in a special election. He replaced Pablo Neruda, who had been removed from his position.

In 1961, he was elected senator for Aconcagua and Valparaíso (1961–1965). He was part of committees dealing with laws and public education. He left his senator role in 1965 to become Chile's ambassador to the United States.

As a politician, Tomic took part in many international events. He was a delegate to a conference of American Foreign Ministers in Washington in 1951. He visited Yugoslavia, Argentina, and Brazil in the mid-1950s. He also traveled to Brussels, Washington, and Italy in 1958. The following year, he visited Cuba, and in 1960, he went to Venezuela and Colombia.

He helped create several important laws. One law changed how lawyers received their degrees. Another law reduced train fares for athletes. He also supported the law that created an extra tax on copper. He helped establish the National Board of School Aid and Scholarships. He also supported the law that created the Copper Corporation (Codelco).

During his time in parliament, he strongly supported the "Chileanization of copper." This meant Chile would have more control over its copper industry. Because of his efforts, Codelco named a mine after him in 1992.

In 1965, he resigned as senator to become Chile's ambassador to the United States. He served from March 4, 1965, to April 13, 1968.

Political Beliefs and Party Work

Radomiro Tomic was a leader of the progressive group within the Christian Democratic Party. He was the party's candidate for president in the 1970 Chilean presidential election. Salvador Allende won this election. Tomic supported Allende's confirmation by the Parliament.

He started his presidential campaign with a famous quote:

I am not trembling to say it: either the democratic and popular revolution shaping an immense effort of people's participation for Chile to reach another horizon and a new destiny, or the institutional collapse will seriously divide Chileans against themselves

Tomic's campaign was very progressive, similar to Allende's. This attracted voters who supported left-wing ideas and progressive Catholics. However, some Christian Democrat supporters who were more conservative chose to support another candidate, Alessandri.

Tomic was seen as a very important leader in the Christian Democratic Party, second only to Frei. As ambassador to the United States, he built connections and gained respect internationally. Since he was abroad, he wasn't linked to some of Frei's less popular policies. Tomic was a progressive Catholic. He openly criticized capitalism. He spoke about a "structural transformation" for Chile. He supported the government taking over the copper industry. He also wanted the Chilean government to have a bigger role in other industries.

Tomic wanted an alliance with the left-wing parties of Popular Unity. He believed that Christian Democrats and the Marxist Left had similar goals for economic and social change. He thought a coalition of these parties would unite progressives in Chile. This would help them get enough votes in parliament to make reforms. Even though some, like Frei, disagreed, Tomic strongly defended his idea. He believed this alliance could save Chile from big problems.

During the Chilean military dictatorship, Tomic lived in Geneva for a few years. In 1990, President Patricio Aylwin appointed him ambassador to the UN in Geneva.

He passed away in 1992 due to a liver illness. His party still remembers his ideas. They consider him one of their most important historical figures. In his hometown of Calama, a high school created in 2002 is named after him.

1970 Chilean Presidential Election Results

Candidate			Party		Coalition Political affiliation	Votes	%
		Salvador Allende Gossens		PS	Unidad Popular	1 070 334	36,62%
		Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez		Independent	PN-DR	1 031 159	35,27%
		Radomiro Tomić Romero		PDC	PDC-PADENA	821 801	28,11%
Total of valid votes						2 923 294	98,93%
Blank and invalid votes						31 505	1,07%
Total votes cast						2 954 799	100%
Total number of registered participants						3 539 747

Sources

• This article uses information from the corresponding article in the [[|Spanish Wikipedia]].

See also

In Spanish: Radomiro Tomic para niños