The Chilean Army (Spanish: Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade.
In recent years, and after several major re-equipment programs, the Chilean Army has become the most technologically advanced and professional army in Latin America.
Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (Spanish pronunciation: [beɾˈnaɾðo oˈ(x)iɣins] ; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Although he was the second Supreme Director of Chile (1817–1823), he is considered one of Chile's founding fathers, as he was the first holder of this title to head a fully independent Chilean state.
He was Captain General of the Chilean Army, Brigadier of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, General Officer of Gran Colombia, and Grand Marshal of Peru.
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the President of Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader of the military junta, which in 1974 declared him President of Chile; in 1980, a referendum approved a new constitution confirming him in the office, after which he served as de jure president from 1981 to 1990. His time in office remains the longest of any Chilean ruler.
Augusto Pinochet rose through the ranks of the Chilean Army to become General Chief of Staff in early 1972 before being appointed its Commander-in-Chief on 23 August 1973 by President Salvador Allende. On 11 September 1973, Pinochet seized power in Chile in a military coup. The military had previously received financial and intelligence support from the United States, which favored the military coup that toppled Allende's democratically elected socialist Unidad Popular government and ended civilian rule. 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.
This article lists the commanders-in-chief of the Chilean Army. The Chilean Army (Spanish: Ejército de Chile) is the land force of Chile. The Chilean Army dates back to 1810.
The current Commander-in-Chief is Army General Javier Iturriaga del Campo. He was appointed by former President Sebastián Piñera on 9 March 2022.