Rodolfo Codina
Admiral (R) Rodolfo Codina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy | |
| In office 18 June 2005 – 18 June 2009 | |
| President | Ricardo Lagos Michelle Bachelet |
| Preceded by | Miguel Ángel Vergara |
| Succeeded by | Edmundo González Robles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 3 July 1949 Valparaíso, Chile |
| Spouse | Gloria Macchiavello |
| Children | 7 |
| Education | Arturo Prat Naval Academy |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Chile |
| Branch/service | Chilean Navy |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands | Chilean Navy |
Rodolfo Codina Díaz (born 3 July 1949) is a retired Chilean naval officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy from 2005 to 2009. He was appointed to the position by President Ricardo Lagos, succeeding Admiral Miguel Ángel Vergara.[1]
Early life and education
[edit]Codina was born in Valparaíso, Chile, on 3 July 1949. After attending the Colegio de los Padres Franceses in Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, he entered the Arturo Prat Naval Academy. He graduated as a sub-lieutenant on 1 January 1969.[1]
Codina is a qualified staff officer and graduated first in his class from the Chilean Naval War Academy. He specialised in artillery and missiles and qualified as a weapons engineer in the same field. He also obtained a master's degree in Naval and Maritime Sciences, specialising in strategy.
He qualified as a military instructor in artillery and as an academy instructor in strategy. He also graduated from the French Armed Forces' joint higher military education programmes.[1]
Naval career
[edit]Codina spent more than fifteen years serving aboard vessels of the Chilean fleet. His assignments included service aboard the destroyer Blanco Encalada, the guided-missile destroyer Almirante Williams, the cruisers Capitán Prat and O'Higgins, and the training ship Esmeralda.
He commanded the landing craft Díaz in 1971 and Maipo in 1986. He later commanded the helicopter-carrying destroyer Almirante Cochrane in 1994 and 1995 and served as chief of staff of the Chilean fleet.[1]
His shore assignments included serving as head of the executive department of the Arturo Prat Naval Academy and deputy director of the Naval War Academy. In 1996, he joined the Navy General Staff, where he served as head of the Projects Division and subsequently as director of Planning and Operations in 1997 and 1998.[1]
Flag officer
[edit]On 1 January 1999, Codina was promoted to rear admiral and appointed commander-in-chief of the Fourth Naval Zone, headquartered in Iquique. In this position, he also served as naval judge and commander-general of the Iquique Naval Garrison.[1]
On 26 December 2000, he became director of education of the Navy. He was promoted to vice admiral on 1 December 2001 and, later that month, assumed office as director-general of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine.
On 21 December 2004, Codina was appointed commander of Naval Operations, placing under his command the Chilean fleet, the Submarine Force, the Chilean Marine Corps and other operational formations of the Navy.[1]
Commander-in-Chief of the Navy
[edit]On 1 June 2005, President Ricardo Lagos appointed Codina as the next Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Navy, succeeding Admiral Miguel Ángel Vergara.[2]
Codina formally assumed command on 18 June 2005 at a change-of-command ceremony held at the Arturo Prat Naval Academy in Valparaíso and presided over by President Lagos. Upon assuming office, he was promoted to the rank of admiral.[3]
During his tenure, Codina oversaw a significant phase in the modernisation of the Chilean Navy's fleet. His command coincided with the incorporation and operational integration of new frigates and Scorpène-class submarines, as well as the development of offshore patrol vessels. He identified the effective incorporation, operation and maintenance of the new vessels as one of the principal institutional challenges of his tenure.[4]
Codina completed his four-year term as commander-in-chief on 18 June 2009 and was succeeded by Admiral Edmundo González Robles.
Later career
[edit]Following his retirement from active naval service, Codina served as president of the Corporación del Patrimonio Marítimo de Chile. He has also taught at the Naval War Academy and in the master's programme in International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso.
Personal life
[edit]Codina is married to Gloria Macchiavello Moreno. They have seven children.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Presidente Lagos recibió a nuevo Comandante en Jefe de la Armada". Armada de Chile (in Spanish). Chilean Navy. 2 June 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ "Lagos designa nuevo jefe de Armada chilena". Emol (in Spanish). Associated Press. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ "Asumió nuevo Comandante en Jefe de la Armada". Armada de Chile (in Spanish). Chilean Navy. 17 June 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2026.
- ↑ "Declaraciones del Comandante en Jefe de la Armada, Almirante Rodolfo Codina Díaz, en el Club de la Prensa". Armada de Chile (in Spanish). Chilean Navy. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 9 September 2026.