Augusto Pinochet was a ruler.
Augusto Pinochet . His rule of Chile was a dictatorship . 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 . Pinochet 's 17-year rule was given a legal framework through a controversial 1980 plebiscite , which approved a new Constitution drafted by a government-appointed commission .