Former Chilean Army commander Ricardo Izurieta has died at his home at the age of 71, according to a report from BBC.

Gen. Izurieta took control of Chile's Army in 1998, succeeding notorious dictator Augusto Pinochet, and has been praised for playing a role in establishing Chile as a democratic society.

"He united the Army and the whole Chilean society without excluding anyone," the Chilean Army said in a statement.

Near the forefront of Izurieta's legacy is the human-rights commission he helped establish, which investigated abuse that occurred during Chile's military rule. That commission forced the military to admit that it had dumped the bodies of Chilean political prisoners into the sea during the Chilean dictatorship under Pinochet.

That military dictatorship began with a coup in 1973, and Pinochet was the president until he stepped down in 1990. He remained commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army until Izurieta was appointed by Chile's elected president, Eduardo Frei in 1998. Izurieta was the commander of the Army until 2002, The Associated Press reported.

Shortly after relinquishing control of the Army, Pinochet was arrested in Spain in 1998. Spain wanted to put him on trial for the murders of Spaniards in Chile during the dictatorship, but he was allowed to return to Chile. Pinochet died in 2006 at the hospital.

During the dictatorship, Pinochet persecuted supporters of the overthrown Socialist president, Salvador Allende. According to official figures, 40,018 people were victims of human-rights abuses in the Pinochet reign, and 3,065 vanished or were killed.

Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States Jose Miguel Insulza also heaped praise on Izurieta and his role in Chile's democratic transition.

"He was someone I could rely on in difficult times," said Insulza, who was among those forced to leave Chile after the 1973 coup.

Izurieta is to be buried at the Military Academy in Santiago on Tuesday. The cause of death has not been disclosed by Chilean officials.