Germán Becker Baechler

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Becker and the second or maternal family name is Baechler.

Germán Becker Baechler (25 February 1915 – 18 November 1994) was a Chilean politician who served as mayor of Temuco^[3] and as a Chamber of Deputies of his country.

Germán Becker
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile
In office 15 May 1973 – 21 September 1973
Constituency	Araucanía Region
Mayor of Temuco
In office 10 November 1973 – 20 February 1983
Preceded by	Sergio Nordenflycht
Succeeded by	Carlos Riffo
In office 10 November 1963 – 20 February 1972
Preceded by	Carlos Riffo
Succeeded by	Víctor Carmine
Personal details
Born	(1915-02-25)25 February 1915 Lautaro, Chile
Died	18 November 1994(1994-11-18) (aged 79) Santiago, Chile
Party	Radical Party (PR) Radical Democracy
Spouse	María Antonieta Alvear
Children	Seven (among them, Germán and Miguel)[1][2]
Parent(s)	Oscar Becker Augusta Baechler
Education	Deutsche Schule
Alma mater	University of Chile
Occupation	Politician

He began his political career in the Radical Party and was elected mayor of Temuco in 1962, being reelected in 1967. His administration promoted important road, housing, and urban projects, notably the construction of Temuco's football stadium, completed with his municipal and community support. In 1973, he became a deputy, but the military coup ended his term prematurely.

During the dictatorship, he was appointed mayor of Temuco and later honored as Illustrious Son of the city. In 1993, Lautaro, his birthplace, named him Distinguished Son, and the Temuco Communal Council officially gave his name to the stadium he had promoted: the Germán Becker Stadium.^[4]

He served as president of the football club Deportes Temuco, and also was a member of the Social Club, the Spanish Center, and the Temuco Aeroclub, to which he belonged as a civil pilot.

Biography

He was born in Lautaro on February 25, 1915, the son of Oscar Enrique Becker Becker and Augusta Bäechler Dickmann, descendants of German settlers.

He completed his primary and secondary education at the German School of Santiago. He later entered the School of Law at the University of Chile, which he had to leave due to his father’s illness, who later died.

Political career

He began his public and political activities when he joined the Radical Party.

In 1962, he was elected mayor of Temuco, being reelected in 1967. His work as mayor materialized in a significant number of road, urban, and housing projects, which considerably improved the population’s quality of life. One of the most emblematic works was the construction of the Germán Becker Municipal Stadium, which was undertaken at the mayor’s own initiative, built by municipal workers and part of the prison population of Temuco’s jail, with the help of a construction company that was key to the rapid completion of the venue. Work began on March 15, 1964, and the stadium was designed by Enrique Estévez, an architect from the University of Chile.

In the 1973 parliamentary elections, he was elected deputy for the 21st departmental constituency of Temuco, Lautaro, Nueva Imperial, Pitrufquén, and Villarrica for the XLVII legislative period, where he joined the Permanent Commission on Agriculture and Colonization. The military coup of September 11, 1973, brought the term to an early end. Decree-Law 27, issued on September 21 of that year, dissolved the National Congress and declared parliamentary functions terminated as of that date.

During the military dictatorship, he was appointed mayor of Temuco, a position he held for several years. On February 4, 1988, the Temuco Communal Development Council, appointed by the authoritarian government, awarded him the distinction of Illustrious Son, which was formally bestowed on February 24 of the same year.

In 1993, he was named Distinguished Son of Lautaro, his hometown. The same year, by agreement of the Temuco Communal Council under mayor René Saffirio, the Municipal Stadium was renamed after him, Germán Becker.

He died in Santiago on November 18, 1994.