
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet, was an army general and dictator of Chile from 1973 until transferring power to a democratically elected president in 1990. He was the commander-in-chief of the Chilean army from 1973 to 1998 and president of the Government Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981. He assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973 that overthrew the Government of Salvador Allende and ended Chilean presidential democratic rule a week before its 48th anniversary.
By early 1972, Pinochet was General Chief of Staff of the Army. On 23 August 1973, he was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army by president Salvador Allende. On 11 September 1973, Pinochet joined a coup d'état, which overthrew Allende's elected socialist government. In December 1974 the military junta appointed Pinochet as President by a joint decree, with which Air Force General Gustavo Leigh disagreed. From the beginning, the government implemented harsh measures against its political opponents. According to various reports and investigations 1,200–3,200 people were killed, up to 80,000 were interned, and up to 30,000 were tortured by his regime including women and children.