José Miguel Barros Franco (San Fernando, — Santiago, ) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat, historian and academic.
Early life He studied in San Fernando, in the south-central area of the country. After the death of his father, he received a scholarship to the Barros Arana National Boarding School in Santiago to study humanities, where, once graduated, he worked as inspector.Article in El Mercurio, 12 May 2002, p. D26.
He studied law at the University of Chile, obtaining his bachelor's degree and law degree from the Supreme Court in 1951. He later completed postgraduate studies at Georgetown University in the United States, and The Hague Academy of International Law.
In 1961 he married the Dutch baroness Elna van Hovell Tot Westerflier with whom he had three sons and a daughter.
Career In 1945 he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 1950 he worked in various representations of the country, highlighting his role as ambassador to the Netherlands (1976–1978), the United States (1978–1981), Peru (1981–1983) and France (1990–1994), the first three during the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet.
He was ambassador on Special Mission in London, acting as Agent of Chile, for the arbitration relating to the Palena River region (1965–1967) and ambassador on Special Mission in London and Geneva, acting as Agent of Chile, for arbitration related to the Beagle Channel (1971–1978).
In 2009 he was elected president of the Chilean Academy of History of the , an entity which he had joined in 1977. He taught classes at the universities of Chile and Diego Portales.
In 2014 he was summoned by the second Government of Michelle Bachelet to join the advisory committee for Bolivia's lawsuit before the International Court of Justice regarding the maritime negotiation between both countries.Article in El Mercurio, 1 April 2014, p. C4.
Awards Officer of the Legion of Honour (1964) Commander of the Order of the Dannebrog (1970) Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (1978) Order of the Sun of Peru (1983) Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite (1994)
References