A leader of the Chilean Christian Democratic Party for over 40 years, Patricio Aylwin Azócar (born 1918) was elected president of Chile in 1989. Strongly committed to social and economic justice, he strove to attain those goals in an environment of freedom and economic growth.

Patricio Aylwin Azócar was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on November 26, 1918. Eldest son of Miguel Aylwin Gajardo, an eminent lawyer who served as president of Chile's supreme court, and Laura Azócar, Patricio Aylwin was raised in a family which participated intensely in Chilean social and political life. His brother, Andrés Aylwin, became a prominent human rights advocate and congressman; Arturo, another brother, also a skilled lawyer, served in the comptroller general's office in 1990.

Tuberculosis forced Aylwin's father to move the family to the Valley of Elqui in northern Chile when Patricio was less than a...