<Li> Santiago Army Garrison </Li> <Tr> <Th> Battles / wars </Th> <Td> 1973 Chilean coup d'état </Td> </Tr> <P> Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (Spanish pronunciation: (auˈɣusto pinoˈ (t) ʃe) or (- ˈ (t) ʃet); 25 November 1915--10 December 2006) was a Chilean general, politician and the military ruler of Chile between 1973 and 1990; he remained the Commander - in - Chief of the Chilean Army until 1998 . He was also president of the Government Junta of Chile between 1973 and 1981 . His rule of Chile was a dictatorship . </P> <P> Pinochet assumed power in Chile following a United States - backed coup d'état on 11 September 1973 that overthrew the democratically elected socialist Unidad Popular government of President Salvador Allende and ended civilian rule . Several academics--including Peter Winn, Peter Kornbluh, Tim Weiner, and Christopher Hitchens--have stated that the support of the United States was crucial to the coup and the consolidation of power afterward . Pinochet had been promoted to Commander - in - Chief of the Army by Allende on 23 August 1973, having been its General Chief of Staff since early 1972 . In December 1974, the ruling military junta appointed Pinochet Supreme Head of the nation by joint decree, although without the support of one of the coup's instigators, Air Force General Gustavo Leigh . </P>

Who was the chilean dictator that ruled throughout the 70s and 80s