Augusto Pinochet Ugarte

Pinochet Ugarte, Augusto (1915– ), president of Chile (1973–88). A right-wing general, he led a bloody coup overthrowing Marxist president Salvador Allende (1973). His authoritarian regime was affirmed by a plebiscite in 1980, but he was ousted (1988) because of his government's economic incompetence despite increasingly repressive measures.

Pinochet was commander-in-chief until March 1998, when he became senator for life. In October 1998 he was arrested in a British hospital and accused o f genocide, torture, and terrorism.

See also: Chile.