{{Short description|Chilean politician (1940–2013)}} {{family name hatnote|Ortega|Solís|lang=Spanish}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Eugenio Ortega | image = Eugenio_Ortega_Riquelme.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1940|6|14}} | birth_place = Constitución, Chile | death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|2013|9|27|1940|6|14}} | death_place = Santiago, Chile | office = Ambassador of Chile at Canada | president = Michelle Bachelet | term_start = 16 August 2006 | term_end = 11 March 2010 | predecessor = | successor = Roberto Ibarra García | office1 = Member of the Chamber of Deputies | constituency1 = 37th District | term_start1 = 11 March 1990 | term_end1 = 11 March 1994 | predecessor1 = ''District created'' | successor1 = Homero Gutiérrez | party = Christian Democratic Party (DC) | occupation = Politician | profession = Sociologist | alma_mater = Pontifical Catholic University of Chile | spouse = Carmen Frei | children = Three | footnotes = }} '''Eugenio Ortega Riquelme''' (14 June 1940 – 27 September 2013) was a Chilean politician who served as a deputy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2013/09/27/621826/fallecio-el-ex-diputado-eugenio-ortega.html|title=A los 73 años falleció el ex diputado Eugenio Ortega|website=Emol|date=27 September 2013|access-date=20 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latercera.com/noticia/a-los-73-anos-fallecio-el-ex-diputado-y-dirigente-dc-eugenio-ortega/|title=A los 73 años falleció el ex diputado y dirigente DC Eugenio Ortega|website=La Tercera|date=27 September 2013|access-date=20 February 2026}}</ref> He also was ambassador to Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://diariochile.cl/fallecio-eugenio-ortega-ex-diputado-embajador-y-marido-de-carmen-frei-hermana-del-ex-presidente/|title=Falleció Eugenio Ortega, ex diputado, embajador y marido de Carmen Frei, hermana del ex Presidente|publisher=Diario Chile|date=27 September 2013|access-date=21 February 2026}}</ref>

==Early life and family== Ortega was born on 14 June 1940 in Constitución. He was the son of Zoila Riquelme Mesa and Antonio Ortega Franco.<ref name="bcn">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bcn.cl/historiapolitica/resenas_biograficas/wiki/Eugenio_Ortega_Riquelme|title=Eugenio Ortega — BCN|website=Library of the National Congress of Chile|access-date=20 February 2026}}</ref> He was married to former senator Carmen Frei Ruiz-Tagle, with whom he had three children: María Paz, Francisca, and Eugenio.<ref name="bcn"/>

He completed his secondary education at the Hermanos de La Salle school in Talca.<ref name="bcn"/>

After finishing school, he enrolled at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile to study Sociology, later completing his degree at the University of Münster (Germany) and the University of Leuven (Belgium).<ref name="bcn"/>

==Political career== He began his political activities during his university years. During this period, he was a student leader and president of Acción Católica Universitaria. He represented the organization in Pax Romana, the International Catholic Students Movement, where he was elected a member of the World Executive Committee based in Fribourg, Switzerland.<ref name="bcn"/>

During the presidency of Eduardo Frei Montalva, he joined the government through the Technical Cooperation Service, where he became General Manager.<ref name="bcn"/>

In 1971, he joined CEPAL/ILPES as an expert in regional integration affairs. In 1975, he was hired by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in New York, a position he held until 1978.<ref name="bcn"/>

In 1980, at the request of Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle and the leadership of the Christian Democratic Party, he assumed responsibility for directing the Alternative Project. Four years later, he became director of the Fundación Eduardo Frei Montalva, which he had helped to create.<ref name="bcn"/>

In 1985, during Gabriel Valdés' presidency of the Christian Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary General of the party. In 1987, he was appointed National Councillor.<ref name="bcn"/>

In 1989, he ran for the Chamber of Deputies for District No. 37 (Talca), in the VII Region, representing the Christian Democratic Party for the 1990–1994 term. He was elected with the highest vote total, receiving 39,157 votes (44.66% of the validly cast ballots). In the 1993 elections, he ran for the Senate in the 10th Circumscription (Maule Norte) for the 1994–2002 term, but was not elected.<ref name="bcn"/>

On 20 May 1994, he was appointed by President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle as a member of the National Council for the Overcoming of Poverty. On 20 January 1995, he was appointed to the Presidential Commission on Scientific Matters. He also served as the President’s representative on the Board of Directors of the University of Talca between 1994 and 2000.<ref name="bcn"/>

In 2006, during the administration of President Michelle Bachelet, he served as Chilean Ambassador to Canada.<ref name="bcn"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.bcn.cl/historiapolitica/resenas_biograficas/wiki/Eugenio_Ortega_Riquelme BCN Profile]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ortega, Eugenio}} Category:1940 births Category:2013 deaths Category:Chilean sociologists Category:Christian Democratic Party (Chile) politicians Category:Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Category:Deputies of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile