Claim: Augusto Pinochet had the rank of a general.

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte -LRB- -LSB- auˈɣusto pinoˈ -LRB- t -RRB- ʃe -RSB- or -LSB- - ˈ -LRB- t -RRB- ʃet -RSB- 25 November 1915 -- 10 December 2006 -RRB- 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 .   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 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 .   From the start of the new military government harsh measures were implemented . During the period of Pinochet 's rule , various investigations have identified the murder of 1,200 to 3,200 people with up to 80,000 people forcibly interned and as many as 30,000 tortured . According to the Chilean government , the official number of deaths and forced disappearances stands at 3,095 .   Under the influence of the free market-oriented neoliberal `` Chicago Boys '' , the military government implemented economic liberalization , including currency stabilization , removed tariff protections for local industry , banned trade unions and privatized social security and hundreds of state-owned enterprises . These policies produced what has been referred to as the `` Miracle of Chile , '' but critics state that economic inequality dramatically increased and attribute the devastating effects of the 1982 monetary crisis on the Chilean economy to these policies . Chile was , for most of the 1990s , the best-performing economy in Latin America , though the legacy of Pinochet 's reforms continues to be in dispute .   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 . In a 1988 plebiscite 56 % voted against Pinochet 's continuing as president , which led to democratic elections for the Presidency and Congress . After stepping down in 1990 , Pinochet continued to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army until 10 March 1998 , when he retired and became a senator-for-life in accordance with his 1980 Constitution . However , Pinochet was arrested under an international arrest warrant on a visit to London on 10 October 1998 in connection with numerous human rights violations . Following a legal battle he was released on grounds of ill-health , and returned to Chile on 3 March 2000 . In 2004 , Chilean Judge Juan Guzmán Tapia ruled that Pinochet was medically fit to stand trial and placed him under house arrest . By the time of his death on 10 December 2006 , about 300 criminal charges were still pending against him in Chile for numerous human rights violations during his 17-year rule , and tax evasion and embezzlement during and after his rule ; he was accused of having corruptly amassed at least 28 million USD . Despite the indictment and 300 charges , he only served time in house arrest .