Allende, Salvador (1908–1973)

Salvador Allende Gossens, born June 26, 1908, was president of Chile from November 1970 until his forced removal from power resulting from a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte on September 11, 1973.

Allende, father of three daughters, attended high school in Santiago and medical school at the University of Chile, graduating with a medical degree in 1933. In the late 1930s Allende became minister of health, and between 1945 and 1969 he was senator for nine provinces.

Both Allende's Marxist-Communist ideology and his friendship with Fidel Castro made him unpopular within the U.S. administration. The United States' attempt to prevent Allende's election by financing political parties aligned with candidates of the opposition did not succeed and thus the leader of the coalition Popular Unity ...