Former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera dies in a helicopter crash

Sebastián Piñera, a former president of Chile who helped strengthen the country's young democracy after becoming its first conservative leader since a military dictatorship, died in a helicopter crash in Chile on Tuesday, the government said. He was 74.

The helicopter, carrying four people, crashed into Lake Ranco in southern Chile's Los Ríos region on Tuesday, Carolina Tohá, Chile's interior minister, said in a televised address. Three people survived and swam to shore, Ms. Toha said, but Mr. Piñera died and the Chilean navy recovered his body. It is unclear who was flying the plane, but it was known that Mr. Piñera flew his own helicopter.

Mr. Piñera was a billionaire businessman and investor who served two terms as president of Chile, from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.

A conservative, Mr. Piñera ushered in pro-business policies that helped boost growth and made the country of 19 million, in his words, a “real oasis” in Latin America.

But he also faced huge protests from citizens who said his government was ignoring the poor — Chile is one of the most economically unequal countries in the world — and he left office with low approval ratings both times.

Perhaps his most important legacy was helping Chile's conservative movement come to power for the first time since the end of Chile's brutal military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet in 1990.

After two decades of left-wing rule following the dictatorship, his first election in 2010 showed that Chile's democracy was strong and healthy, said Robert Funk, a political science professor at the University of Chile.

“He basically did that on his own,” Mr. Funk said. “He pushed the parties on the right to participate and accept the rules of the game at a time when they were not yet convinced of this.”

Mr Piñera made his fortune as a bank manager and investor in airlines, television and football clubs; he also successfully introduced credit cards in Chile during the dictatorship.

This is a development story.

Johannes Bartlett contributed reporting from Valdivia, Chile.