Salvador Allende's Biography

Salvador Allende Gossens was born on July 26, 1908 and died on September 11, 1973.

Allende helped found Chile's Socialist Party in 1933. After a number of unsuccessful attempts, in 1970 Salvador Allende was finally successful in his candidacy for the President. Himself a Marxist, he was the candidate of the Popular Unity ticket, a left-wing alliance.

Salvador Allende started to restructure Chile, but maintained its democracy. By 1972, Chile was suffering an economic crisis and the following year Allende's government was overthrown by a military coup.

Allende's nationalisation of the American owned copper mines was in part responsible for the CIA involvement in the coup against him.

Salvador Allende was killed in the attack on the presidential palace and a military junta under Augusto Pinochet took over. Latter-day President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet's father had been in the government of Salvador Allende and was tortured and died in prison. Bachelet herself was imprisoned and tortured.