Commission for the Study of the New Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile, commonly known as the Ortúzar Commission, was a body established in 1973 by the Military Government Junta that ruled the country during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, following the coup against the Socialist President Salvador Allende.
[1] The name "Ortúzar Commission" is due to its chairman, Enrique Ortúzar Escobar, who previously served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs during the administration of Jorge Alessandri.
Also on the commission were:[1] Enrique Evans and Alejandro Silva resigned on March 16 and 22, 1977, respectively.
They were replaced on June 9, 1977, by:[3] Despite what is commonly believed, the Ortúzar Commission was not a constituent assembly and did not draft the 1980 Constitution; rather, it merely prepared a preliminary draft that was subsequently reviewed by the Council of State and the Government Junta before being formally submitted for popular approval via a plebiscite.
[4] Nevertheless, there is no denying the importance of the discussion carried out by the Ortúzar Commission regarding the final text of the 1980 Constitution.