President of Chile. He is recognized as the first socialist President of Chile, serving during a very unstable political environment from November 3, 1970, until his death. Graduating in 1932, he was educated at the University of Chile before organizing a union for physicians and imprisoned for political reasons for a short time. At first a doctor by profession, he later entered politics and, in 1933, founded Chile's Socialist Party, serving as a Cabinet Minister and in the Senate from 1937 to 1969, being President of the Senate for the last three years. In 1952, 1958, and 1964, he ran as a candidate for President of Chile as a socialist but lost all three elections. In 1970, he ran again as a socialist candidate for the office of President of Chile, being elected with 36.3 percent of the vote. As President, he expropriated the American-owned copper companies in Chile without any compensation. This act would become a serious mistake involving the United States government. On September 11, 1973, with high inflation threatening Chile's economy, military troops stormed his palace during a coup d'état in a violent act to overthrow his government. Allende had survived an aerial military attack on the palace. As the troops entered his burning palace in Santiago, he committed suicide, which was documented by a forensic autopsy in 1990. After his death, he was replaced as President of Chile by General Augusto Pinochet, the primary leader of the coup, which was financed by foreign sources. After the coup, 3,000 people were either murdered or disappeared as part of the new dictatorship. He was married and had three children. In the garden of remembrance of those fallen to political injustices, a monument to honor him was erected in Dresden-Plauen, Germany. He has taken a place of honor in Chile's history.