José Maza Fernández


José Maza Fernández was a politician, lawyer and diplomat from Chile. He served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly during its tenth session from 1954 to 1955.

Early life

José was born to Armando de la Maza Ramos and Zoila Rosa Fernández Anguita in Los Ángeles, Chile. He studied at the Liceo de Aplicación in Santiago and graduated as a lawyer from the University of Chile in 1913. He worked as a clerk at the Chilean War Ministry, before turning his attention towards student politics. He married Raquel Lyon Vial and they had a son, José.

Political career

He served as an important member in the Liberal Party, rising to become its president. He also served in the ministry of Arturo Alessandri as the Home minister in 1924, Minister of Justice and Public Instruction in 1925, besides also holding the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religion occasionally.
He was twice President of the Senate, in 1936 and 1937. He was also president of the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations from 1937 until 1953. In 1949 he drafted a law which gave women political rights and which later was incorporated into the, Chilean Constitution.

Diplomatic career

He also served as the Chilean Ambassador to Uruguay, Brazil, Haiti, Panama, the Dominican Republic, and Peru at different periods of his diplomatic career. He was also Chile's delegate in the United Nations Conference on International Organization in 1945. He subsequently served as the Chilean representative at the United Nations, before becoming the President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1954. He was subsequently the Chilean Ambassador to Argentina from 1957 to 1958.

Other Activities

He was one of the founding members of the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario, which was a predecessor of the Banco del Estado de Chile.