Radomiro Tomic

Radomiro Tomic Romero (Calama, 7 May 1914 - Santiago de Chile, 3 January 1992) was a Chilean lawyer and politician of Croatian origin, and candidate for the presidency of the Chilean Republic in the 1970 election.

He graduated as a lawyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC).

Of Croatian people descent, he was the fifth of seven children of the marriage between Esteban Tomic Dvornik (mayor of Calama in the 1930s, who inaugurated the present town hall of the commune) and María Romero García.

He had seven siblings.

Among other activities Tomic was director of the newspaper El Tarapacá of Iquique (1937–1941) and later of the Editorial del Pacífico.

Between 1937 and 1941, he was director of the newspaper El Tarapacá de Iquique, where he succeeded Eduardo Frei Montalva.

He later directed the publishing house Editorial del Pacífico.

He also taught Economic Policy, Political Economy and Social Legislation at the Catholic University of Chile and the Polytechnic Institute.

He also held the post of director of the Centros del Progreso for Tarapacá and Antofagasta.

He started in politics during his university days, when he became president of the Law Students' Centre of the PUC and later, of the Students' Federation of his university.

He began his political activity in the Social-Christian circles of the PUC, and was one of the co-founders of the Falange Nacional (FN, future Christian Democracy, DC) in 1938.

In 1938, together with Eduardo Frei Montalva, Bernardo Leighton, Manuel Antonio Garretón and Rafael Gumucio, among others, he founded the Falange Nacional (FN).

In 1940, while in Stockholm (Sweden), he married Olaya Errázuriz Echeñique, with whom he had nine children: Amaya, Esteban, who was Chilean Ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Carlos, Gabriel, Felipe, Blas, Olaya, Juan Cristóbal and Francisco.

He studied at Colegio San Luis in Antofagasta.

After school, he entered the Law School Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

Tomic served as deputy for Arica, Pisagua and Iquique (1941–1949).

He graduated as a lawyer in 1941 with the thesis: International law: the inter-American system.

Upon graduation he obtained the "Grand Prize" for the most outstanding student.

He worked in the field of journalism.

He was elected deputy in two consecutive periods for Arica, Pisagua and Iquique (1941-1945 and 1945–1949) He was a substitute deputy on the Standing Committee on Public Education and was a member of the Standing Committee on National Defence.

In his second term he was a substitute member of the Standing Committee on Constitution, Legislation and Justice and was a member of the Standing Committee on Roads and Public Works.

Between 1945 and 1946 he was a member of the Falangist Committee.

He became president of the party in 1946–1947 and 1952–1953.

He was married to Olaya Errázuriz Echenique, and together they had 9 children.

He was its national president between 1946 and 1947, and again between 1952 and 1953.

Later he was senator for the provinces of Tarapacá and Antofagasta (1950-1953, in a complementary election, replacing Pablo Neruda who was disqualified by the[Law for the Defence of Democracy).

He was a substitute senator in the Standing Committee on Finance and Budgets; in the Standing Committee on Public Works and Roads; and in the Standing Committee on Hygiene, Health and Public Assistance.

As a congressman he participated in various international activities: in 1951 he was a delegate to the Conference of American Foreign Ministers held in Washington; in 1955 he was received as a guest of honour by the Yugoslavian Government; in 1957, he was a member of the delegation that negotiated the Trade Treaty with Argentina and participated in the International Congress of São Paulo.

In 1958, he participated in the Brussels International Congress; he was invited by the Department of State in Washington and by the Italian Government.

The following year, he travelled to Cuba as an official guest of the government, and in 1960, he visited Venezuela and Colombia also at the official invitation.

In 1961 he was elected senator for Aconcagua and Valparaíso (for the period 1961–1965).

He was a member of the Standing Committee on Constitution, Legislation, Justice and Regulation; and the Committee on Public Education.

When senator and poet Pablo Neruda was banned by the Ley de Defensa Permanente de la Democracia (Law for the Permanent Defense of Democracy)—which banned the Communist Party of Chile and removed numerous voters from the rolls)—Tomić won the vacated seat in a by-election. He served as senator for Tarapacá and Antofagasta (1950–1953), and then for Aconcagua and Valparaíso (1961–1965). In 1965 he resigned his senatorial seat to become Chile's ambassador to the United States (4 March 1965 – April 1968).

He did not finish his parliamentary term after being posted as Chilean ambassador to the United States on 4 March 1965.

He was replaced by Benjamín Prado Casas.

As leader of the progressive wing of the Christian Democrats, he was the party's presidential candidate in the 1970 election in which Salvador Allende won a plurality and, with Tomic's support, was ratified by parliament as president.

Allende died three years later in the Chilean coup of 1973, which put an end to democracy in Chile for over 15 years.

As a parliamentarian and politician Tomic was a defender of Chilean sovereignty over the country's copper deposits and in the nationalization of that industry.

Tomic died in 1992 in Santiago.

In 1997, CODELCO named a mine in his honor.