Francisco Freire Caldera (1839 – July 30, 1900) was a Chilean lawyer, farmer and politician.

Francisco was born in Santiago in 1839, the son of Manuela Caldera Mascaiano and Gen. Ramón Freire Serrano, one of the principal leaders of the liberal Pipiolo movement who served as the Chilean head of state on several occasions before the War of the Confederation.

[1] He studied at the National Institute and the University of Chile before being sworn in as a lawyer on December 22, 1863.

[2] In 1886, he was appointed Mayor of Santiago, which he resigned in the same year to hold the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Colonization from October 30, 1886, to June 28, 1887.

[2] He married Enriqueta Valdés Solar,[4] with whom he had six children: Elisa, Carolina, Alfonso, Isabel, Julia and María.