Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (; ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general, politician and US-backed dictator of Chile between 1973 and 1990 who remained the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until 1998 and was also President of the Government Junta of Chile between 1973 and 1981.
Pinochet assumed power in Chile following a United States-backed coup d'état on 11 September 1973 that overthrew the democratically elected socialist Unidad Popular government of President Salvador Allende and ended civilian rule. Several academics – including Peter Winn, Peter Kornbluh and Tim Weiner – have stated that the support of the United States was crucial to the coup and the consolidation of power afterward. Pinochet had been promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Army by Allende on 23 August 1973, having been its General Chief of Staff since early 1972. In December 1974, the ruling military junta appointed Pinochet Supreme Head of the nation by joint decree, although without the support of one of the coup's instigators, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh. Following his rise to power, Pinochet persecuted leftists, socialists, and political critics, resulting in the executions of from 1,200 to 3,200 people, the internment of as many as 80,000 people and the torture of tens of thousands. According to the Chilean government, the number of executions and forced disappearances was 3,095.
Augusto Pinochet
Historian Gabriel Salazar stated that Pinochet's establishment cult of personality around him was a fascist tactic:
Pinochet was publicly known as a man with a lack of culture. This image was reinforced by the fact that he also portrayed himself as a common man with simple ideas. He was also known for being reserved, sharing little about his opinions or feelings. Before wresting power from Allende, Pinochet had written two books, "Geopolítica" (1968) and "Campaña de Tarapacá" (1972), which established him as a major figure in Chile's military literature. In "Geopolítica" Pinochet plagiarized his mentor general Gregorio Rodríguez Tascón by using paragraphs from a 1949 conference presentation of Rodríguez without attributing them to him.
Rodríguez had previously lectured Pinochet and René Schneider and Carlos Prats in geography and geopolitics. In contrast to the two latter Pinochet was not an outstanding student but his persistence and interest in geopolitics made Rodríguez assume the role as his academic mentor. Rodríguez granted Pinochet a slot as assistant lecturer in geopolitics and in geography. According to Rodríguez Pinochet would have been particularly impressed by his lectures on "The Art of War". Pinochet would later succeed Rodríguez in the geopolitics and geography chair.