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Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet was an army general and dictator of Chile from 1973 until transferring power to a democratically elected president in1990. He assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973, supported by the American Central Intelligence Agency, that overthrew the Unidad Popular government of Salvador Allende and ended civilianrule a week before its 48th anniversary.

By early 1972, Pinochet was General Chief of Staff of the Army. On 23 August 1973, he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army by PresidentAllende. On 11 September 1973, Pinochet joined a coup d'état, which overthrew Allende's elected socialist government. In December 1974 the military junta appointed Pinochet as President by a joint decree,with which Air Force General Gustavo Leigh disagreed. From the beginning, the government implemented harsh measures against its political opponents. According to various reports and investigations1,200–3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his government including women and children.

Under the influence of the free market-oriented neoliberalChicago Boys, the new government also implemented economic reforms, including currency stabilization, tariff cutting, opening Chile's markets to global trade, restricting labor unions, privatizingsocial security, and the privatization of hundreds of state-controlled industries. Chile was, for most of the nineties, the best-performing economy in Latin America, though academics continue to disputethe legacy of Pinochet's reforms.

Pinochet's 17-year rule was given a legal framework through a controversial 1980 plebiscite, which approved a new Constitution drafted by a government-appointedcommission. A 1988 plebiscite (which saw 56% vote against continuing his presidency) led to democratic elections for the Presidency and Congress. After peacefully stepping down in 1990, Pinochet...