Alejandro Serani Burgos

Alejandro Serani Burgos (May 3, 1901 – March 23, 1982) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. He served as an intendant, legislator, and minister of state during the governments of Presidents Arturo Alessandri and Gabriel González Videla. He was a Freemason, serving as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Chile from 1954 to 1957.

Biography
Serani was born in Antuco on May 3, 1901, the son of Ceferino Serani Di Cocco and Magdalena Burgos Binet, both of European descent.

He completed his primary and secondary education at the Liceo de Hombres de Temuco, and pursued higher education at the Pedagogical Institute and the Law School of the University of Chile. He obtained a degree in mathematics in 1924 and received his law degree on November 20, 1928. His thesis focused on Theories on the Investigation of Crimes. During his university years, he held positions as president, vice president, and secretary of the Law and Pedagogy Student Centers. He was also director of the University of Chile Student Federation (FECh).

He worked as a teacher at the Liceos of Los Andes and San Felipe, served as vice-rector of the Night Liceo Federico Hansen, and held the position of rector at the Liceos of Rengo and Los Ángeles.

Among other activities, he was secretary and member of the Ateneo of the Liceo de Temuco; Boy Scouts of Bío-Bío; and a member of the League of Poor Students. He also served as president of the International Labour Conference held in Santiago, Chile.

He was married twice, first to Marta Martelli Devia, with whom he had three children: César, Mario, and Patricio. After being widowed, he married Guilda Mostazal González in Santiago on June 18, 1962, with whom he had two children: Nancy and Jorge Alejandro.

Political career
Serani was a member of the Democrat Party and in 1941, he participated in its merger with the Democratic Party, which was split in 1952 for the presidential elections, during which Serani was part of its leadership, but he did not return to party activity afterward.

During Carlos Dávila's provisional presidency, he was appointed intendant of the Biobío Province on June 30, 1932, but resigned from the position in July of the same year.

In the parliamentary elections of 1932, he was elected as a deputy for the Nineteenth Departmental Group (corresponding to the departments of Angol, Laja, and Mulchén) for the legislative period of 1933–1937. He did not complete his parliamentary term because he accepted the position of minister of state, and in his place, Pedro Hernán Freeman Caris was incorporated on June 25 of the same year.

During the government of liberal President Arturo Alessandri, he was appointed Minister of Labour, a position he held from April 19, 1934, to March 31, 1936. On this date, he was appointed Minister of National Assets, serving until January 15, 1937. Finally, he was appointed Minister of Justice on March 24, 1937, serving until August 6 of the same year.

During the government of radical President Pedro Aguirre Cerda, he was appointed as government delegate director to the Compañía de Teléfonos de Chile, a position from which he resigned on February 3, 1939.

On August 8, 1950, he assumed the position of Minister of Labour for the second time, serving until July 29, 1952, under the administration of fellow radical President Gabriel González Videla.

In the parliamentary elections of 1957, he ran for senator for Atacama and Coquimbo for the 1957–1965 term but was not elected.

Later activities
On May 5, 1956, Serani was appointed professor of civil law at the Law School of the University of Chile, a position he held until 1982. He was also a member of the General Council of the Bar Association, a seat he held until his death.

He worked as a forestry entrepreneur, acquiring the "El Trapiche" estate near Coipue, in the commune of Curepto, in the early 1950s.

He was also a Freemason, elected as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Chile on June 4, 1954, and re-elected for a new term in 1956, but he resigned from the position, which was accepted by the Grand Lodge Council on June 17, 1957. During his tenure, the Masonic Constitution in force since November 1, 1955, was promulgated, and Decree No. 318 of 1955 was issued, establishing the Masonic Instruction Program for the three symbolic degrees.

Serani owned the newspaper El Ideal de Mulchén and received the Order of Isabella the Catholic.

He passed away on March 23, 1982, in Santiago.