The President of Chile during the Pinochet regime was Salvador Allende. He was a socialist leader who was elected President in 1970, becoming the first Marxist to be democratically elected as the head of a country in Latin America. Allende's presidency was marked by political polarization and economic turmoil, and he faced opposition from both domestic and international sources. In September 1973, he was overthrown in a military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet, who established a military dictatorship that lasted until 1990.