Augusto Pinochet was a ruler.
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte ( [ 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 . 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 . 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 . 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 .