Gonzalo Prieto

Gonzalo Prieto Gándara was a Chilean lawyer and political figure who served as Minister of Justice from 1973 to 1974 during the Pinochet regime.

Early life and career

Prieto Gándara began his professional career as a lawyer for the Legal Department of the Subsecretariat of the Navy, later serving for three decades as legal adviser to the Chilean Navy and to the state-owned shipyards ASMAR.
He was a long-standing member of the Christian Democratic Party until 1973, when he resigned after accepting a ministerial post under the new military government.

Minister of Justice

On 12 September 1973, the day after the military coup, Prieto Gándara was appointed Minister of Justice. Along with José Navarro Tobar, he was one of the few civilians to join the first cabinet of the new governing junta.
He later stated that he had advocated for a plebiscite in 1975 and for reducing tensions between the government, the Christian Democratic Party and the Catholic Church, although such rapprochement did not materialise.
He left office in July 1974.