Formation (1966) The National Party was created on 11 May 1966 through the merger of the
United Conservative Party, the
Liberal Party, and
National Action. The merger aimed to unite the Chilean right into a single force capable of countering the growing influence of centrist and left-wing movements.
Role during the Allende years (1970–1973) The National Party candidate
Jorge Alessandri lost the
1970 presidential election. The party opposed the government of
Salvador Allende and his
Popular Unity coalition. In August 1973, Three years later, in August 1973, amid intense
political polarization, the National Party joined forces with the
Christian Democrats in Congress to confront the Allende administration. The following month, newly appointed chief of staff General
Augusto Pinochet led the
1973 military coup against Allende. Following the
military coup of 11 September 1973, led by General
Augusto Pinochet, the National Party expressed support for the coup and voluntarily dissolved itself on 21 September 1973.
Reorganisation efforts (1983–1994) In March 1983, former members of the National Party and its supporters formed the Civic Action Committee to reconstruct a unified right-wing party. Later that year, group leaders Carmen Sáenz, Silvia Alessandri, and Alicia Ruiz-Tagle de Ochagavía attempted to reconstitute the National Party itself. Despite these efforts, the Chilean right-wing remained divided; thirteen
backbench MPs joined the National Party under former Senator Patricio Phillips Peñafiel, while twenty deputies and many former leaders and activists joined the
National Union Movement, which later became
National Renewal (RN). Supporters of the Gremialismo movement joined the
Independent Democratic Union (UDI), and nationalist factions formed the
National Action Movement (MAN), later evolving into
National Advance. The PN also participated in the creation of the
Group of Eight but, following poor electoral results, formally disbanded during the
transition to democracy in 1994. == Presidential candidates ==