Vicente Merino Bielich (1 January 1889 – 30 January 1977) was a Chilean naval officer and politician.
He commanded the Chilean Navy during World War II and the Battle of the Caribbean.
Early life The son of a Navy Captain named Vicente Merino Jarpa, he briefly served as the acting president of Chile between August 3 and 13, 1946.
Public career He was the son of prominent Chilean naval officer Vicente Merino Jarpa, a veteran of the War of the Pacific and the 1891 Chilean Civil War, and Peruvian-born Esther Bielich Pomareda. He married Amelia Novoa Astaburuaga, with whom he had six children.
On 10 January 1944, Merino became Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy, a position he held until his retirement in 1947.
In January 1946, he was appointed Minister of the Interior by Vice President Alfredo Duhalde Vásquez, serving until 6 September. From 3 to 13 August of that year, Merino served as Vice President of Chile after Duhalde temporarily stepped aside to pursue a presidential candidacy, which he withdrew ten days after his nomination.
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