Jerónimo Méndez

Jerónimo Segundo Méndez Arancibia (1887-1959) was a Chilean physician and politician of the Radical Party. Born in Chañaral, he graduated as a physician and surgeon from the University of Chile in 1914 with a thesis on diseases of the eye, and later specialized in ophthalmology, travelling to Europe for further training in 1926, 1930 and 1931. He began practising in Ovalle, then served as a physician at the hospital in Coquimbo, which he directed from 1924 to 1945. In politics he was mayor of Coquimbo, a senator for Atacama and Coquimbo, and in November 1941 he became Vice President and acting head of state after the death of President Pedro Aguirre Cerda. In 1943 he briefly served as Minister of Health, Welfare and Social Assistance. A hospital in Chañaral bears his name.