National Congress of Chile in the context of "2005–06 Chilean presidential election"

The Chilean Declaration of Independence is a document declaring the independence of Chile from the Spanish Empire. It was drafted in January 1818 and approved by Supreme Director Bernardo O'Higgins on 12 February 1818 at Talca, despite being dated in Concepción on 1 January 1818. The ceremony of independence was performed on 12 February 1818, the first anniversary of the Battle of Chacabuco.

The original document, displaying manuscript comments by O'Higgins, was damaged at the Palace of the Real Audiencia of Santiago. In 1832, under President José Joaquín Prieto, a new copy was sent to Peru to be signed by O'Higgins, and later by his former ministers, Miguel Zañartu, Hipólito Villegas and José Ignacio Zenteno, who were still living in Chile. This copy was kept at the Palacio de La Moneda until the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, when it was destroyed during the fighting.

The 1973 Chilean coup d'état (Spanish: Golpe de Estado en Chile de 1973) was a military overthrow of the socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist to be democratically elected president in a Latin American liberal democracy, faced significant social unrest, political tension with the opposition-controlled National Congress of Chile. On 11 September 1973, a group of military officers, led by General Augusto Pinochet, seized power in a coup, ending civilian rule.

During the air raids and ground attacks preceding the coup, Allende delivered his final speech, expressing his determination to remain at Palacio de La Moneda and rejecting offers of safe passage for exile. Although he died in the palace, the exact circumstances of Allende's death are still disputed, but it is generally accepted as a suicide. Following the coup, a military junta was established, and suspended all political activities in Chile and suppressed left-wing movements, such as the Communist Party of Chile and the Socialist Party of Chile, the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), and other communist and socialist parties. Pinochet swiftly consolidated power and was officially declared president of Chile in late 1974.

Valparaíso (English: /ˌvælpəˈreɪsoʊ/ val-pə-RAY-soh /ˌvælpəˈreɪzoʊ/ or /ˌvælpəˈraɪsoʊ/; Spanish: [balpaɾaˈiso]) is a major city, commune, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castile-La Mancha, Spain.

Greater Valparaíso is the second-most populous metro area in the country. Valparaiso is the second-largest city in the metro area (behind Viña del Mar). It is located about 120 km (75 mi) northwest of Santiago, by road, and is one of the Pacific Ocean's most important seaports. Valparaíso is the capital of Chile's second most-populated administrative region and has been the Chilean Navy headquarters since 1817, as well as being the seat of the National Congress of Chile since 1990.

Chile's government is a representative democratic republic, in which the President of Chile serves as both head of state and head of government, within a formal multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabinet. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Congress. The judiciary operates independently of both the executive and legislative branches.

The Constitution of Chile was approved in a national plebiscite in September 1980, during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and came into effect in March 1981. After Pinochet was voted out of office in 1988, the Constitution was amended the following year to simplify the process for future amendments.

The Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency (Spanish: Ministerio Secretaría General de la Presidencia) is the cabinet-level administrative office (equivalent to the president's Chief of Staff) which serves in an advisory role to the President of Chile and her or his ministers in the governments' relations with the National Congress of Chile, the development of the legislative agenda, and keeping track of the bills and other legislative activity in Congress as they pertain to the government.

The ministry was created in 1990 during the government of Patricio Aylwin, and the first appointee and longest-serving Minister so far was Edgardo Boeninger Kausel.