“At the age of 99, my beloved grandmother died surrounded by relatives and friends,” wrote Irina’s granddaughter Karina.
Lucia Iriart was the First Lady of Chile from 1974 to 1990 as the wife of President Augusto Pinochet. As her husband’s closest adviser, she had a significant influence on Pinochet when making political decisions. In particular, it was she who had the greatest influence on Pinochet’s decision to organize a coup against President Salvador Allende on September 11, 1973, the newspaper El Mostador notes.
Augusto Pinochet died in 2006 at the age of 92, while under house arrest. He was suspected of murdering political opponents and corruption, but the former dictator of Chile did not live to see the trial.