Province of Ñuble (1974-2018)
The province of Ñuble was an ancient administrative subdivision that was part of the Biobío region of the Republic of Chile, with a total area of 13,178.5 km² and was administratively made up of 21 communes. In 2017, it had a population of 441,604 inhabitants. Its capital was the city of Chillán. It bordered to the north with the provinces of Linares and Cauquenes of the Maule region, to the southwest with the province of Concepción, to the south with the province of Biobío, to the east with Argentina and to the west with the Pacific Ocean.
In August 2015, the sending of a bill, signed by President Michelle Bachelet, was announced to convert this province into the Ñuble Region. The bill, approved and promulgated in August 2017, segregated the province of Ñuble, to convert it into a new region that has been in force since September 6, 2018.
History
During the regionalization process, the province of Ñuble was created from the old province of Ñuble (with rank equivalent to the current regions) and:
- the communes and subdelegations of Coelemu and Ránquil, segregated from the Department of Tomé (Province of Conception), and
- the municipality and sub-delegation of Tucapel from the Department of Yungay to the Province of Biobío was separated.
During the time it was in force, with its 21 communes, it was, together with the Province of Cautín, the province with the largest number of communes in the country.
Authorities
Provincial governors
Due to the regionalization process carried out in the 1970s, the Province of Ñuble, with its headquarters in the city of Chillán, was governed by the Provincial Governor of Ñuble.
The following were the last provincial governors of Ñuble:
| Governor/a | Party | Period | Chairman/a | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Abel Jarpa Wevar | PRSD | 11 March 1990 - 11 March 1994 | Patricio Aylwin | ||
| 11 March 1994 - 1996 | Eduardo Frei Ruíz-Tagle | ||||
| Hugo Fuentealba Salinas | 1996 - 11 March 2000 | ||||
| José Patricio Huepe García | PDC | 11 March 2000 - 21 September 2005 | Ricardo Lagos | ||
| Carlos Arzola Burgos | 2 October 2005 - 11 March 2006 | ||||
| Ignacio Marín Correa | 11 March 2006 - 11 March 2010 | Michelle Bachelet | |||
| Eduardo Durán Salinas | RN | 11 March 2010 - 11 March 2014 | Sebastián Piñera | ||
| Cristian Fernández Gómez | Ind-MAS | 11 March 2014 - 18 March 2014 | Michelle Bachelet | ||
| Lorena Vera Arriagada | MORE | 19 March 2014 - 10 November 2016 | |||
| Erwin Campos Cáceres (Suppl.) | PRSD | 10 November 2016 - 27 January 2017 | |||
| Alvaro Miguieles | MORE | 27 January 2017 - 11 March 2018 | |||
| Paola Becker Villa | RN | March 11, 2018 - September 6, 2018 | Sebastián Piñera | ||
Territorial organization
The province was made up of 21 communes:
- Bulnes
- Chillán
- Old Chillán
- Cobquecura
- Coelemu
- Coihueco
- El Carmen
- Ninhue
- Ñiquén
- Pemuco
- Pinto
- Portezuelo
- Quillion
- Quirihue
- Ránquil
- San Carlos
- San Fabián
- San Ignacio
- St. Nicholas
- Truguaco
- Yungay
Planning territories
The MIDEPLAN designated planning territories within the province, such as those called Valle del Itata, Chillán, Punilla and Laja Diguillín.
- Itata Valley
Coelemu, Quillón, Ránquil, Trehuaco, Cobquecura, Quirihue, Portezuelo, Ninhue and San Nicolás.
- Chillán
Chillán.
- Punilla
Ñiquén, San Carlos, San Fabián de Alico and Coihueco.
- Laja Diguillín
Chillán Viejo, Bulnes, San Ignacio, El Carmen, Pemuco, Yungay and Pinto.