Manuel Trucco

Manuel Trucco Franzani
Manuel Trucco Franzani
Born	Template:Birth date; Cauquenes, Chile
Died	October 25, 1954 (aged 79); Santiago, Chile
Occupation(s)	Statesman, civil engineer, diplomat, professor
Years active	1899–1951
Known for	Provisional vice president of Chile (1931), President of the Central Bank of Chile (1946–1951), Ambassador to the United States (1932–1938)

Manuel Trucco Franzani (March 18, 1875 – October 25, 1954) was a prominent Chilean statesman who served as provisional vice president of Chile in 1931.

Originating from Cauquenes, Trucco pursued his education at the Instituto Nacional and earned his civil engineering degree from the Universidad de Chile in 1899. During his academic years, he held positions as both secretary to the principal and mathematics instructor at the Liceo de Cauquenes. After completing his studies, he contributed to the Direction of Public Works and the State Railroads. Benefiting from a government scholarship, he advanced his education with postgraduate studies at L’Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris between 1902 and 1904. He was married to Laura Gaete Fagalde, with whom he had four children.

Upon his return to Chile, Trucco took on a professorship in material resistance at the architecture faculty of Universidad de Chile. He was responsible for designing several significant railroad bridges, notably the Claro bridge near Yumbel and the viaduct of Las Cucharas along the Santiago-Valparaíso line. His academic career included appointments as dean of mathematics in 1911 and director of the engineering and architecture schools in 1917. In 1918, he resigned from his university roles to dedicate himself fully to his position as general director of railroads, a role he held until 1924.

Trucco became affiliated with the Radical Party, briefly serving as its president in 1926 before stepping down due to health concerns. That same year, he was elected senator representing "Arauco, Malleco and Cautín" for the term 1926–1930. After President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo resigned in 1931, Vice-President Juan Esteban Montero appointed Trucco as Minister of the Interior on August 7. When Montero resigned from the vice-presidency on August 20 to pursue a presidential candidacy—prohibited while holding office—Trucco assumed the interim presidency.

During his caretaker government, Trucco worked to preserve stability amid a volatile political climate, most notably by suppressing the September 1931 Sailors' mutiny within the navy provoked by wage reductions. The uprising was subdued following aerial bombardment of naval vessels but underscored ongoing unrest. Trucco maintained the vice-presidential office until November 15, when Montero resumed power after securing electoral victory.

President Arturo Alessandri appointed Trucco as ambassador to the United States from 1932 to 1938. After completing his diplomatic service, Trucco retired from active politics. In 1946, President Gabriel González Videla designated him President of the Central Bank of Chile, a position he held until 1951. Manuel Trucco passed away in Santiago in 1954 at age seventy-nine.

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