Michelle Bachelet
Encyclopedia
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (miˈtʃel βatʃeˈlet; born September 29, 1951) is a Social Democrat
politician who was President of Chile
from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country. In September 2010 Bachelet was appointed as the head of UN Women
by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
.
Bachelet won the 2006 presidential election
in a runoff, beating center-right businessman and former senator Sebastián Piñera
(who eventually succeeded Bachelet as President) with 53.5% of the vote. She campaigned on a platform of continuing Chile's free-market policies, while increasing social benefits
to help reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Bachelet, a pediatrician
and epidemiologist with studies in military strategy
, served as Health Minister and Defense Minister under her predecessor, President Ricardo Lagos
. She is a separated
mother of three and describes herself as an agnostic
. As well as her native Spanish
, she speaks English
, German
, Portuguese
and French
, with varying levels of fluency.
Brigadier General
Alberto Bachelet Martínez
. Her paternal great-great-grandfather, Louis-Joseph Bachelet Lapierre, was a French
wine merchant from Chassagne-Montrachet
who emigrated to Chile with his Paris
ian wife, Françoise Jeanne Beault, in 1860 hired as a wine-making expert by the Subercaseaux vineyards in southern Santiago
. Bachelet Lapierre's son, Germán—Michelle Bachelet's great-grandfather—was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1862, and married in 1891 to Luisa Brandt Cadot, a Chilean of French-Swiss
origin, giving birth in 1894 to Michelle Bachelet's grandfather Alberto Bachelet Brandt. Her maternal great-grandfather, Máximo Jeria Chacón, of alleged Greek heritage, was the first person to receive a degree in agronomic engineering
in Chile and founded several agronomy schools in the country. He married Lely Johnson, the daughter of an English physician working in Chile. Their son, Máximo Jeria Johnson, married Angela Gómez Zamora. Their union produced five children, the fourth of whom became Michelle Bachelet's mother.
, and spent many of her childhood years traveling around her native Chile, moving with her family from one military base
to another. She lived and attended primary school in Quintero
, Cerro Moreno, Antofagasta
and San Bernardo
. In 1962 she moved with her family to the United States
, where her father was assigned to the military mission at the Chilean Embassy in Washington, DC, USA. Her family lived for almost two years in Bethesda, Maryland
, where she attended Western Junior High School (now Westland Middle School
) and learned to speak English fluently. Returning to Chile in 1964, she graduated from high school in 1969 at Liceo Nº 1 Javiera Carrera, a prestigious girls' public school, finishing near the top of her class. There she was president of her class, a member of the school's choir and volleyball teams, and part of a theater group and a music band called Las Clap Clap which she helped found, that toured around several school festivals. She entered medical school at the University of Chile in 1970, after obtaining one of the highest national scores in the university admission test. She originally wanted to study sociology
or economics
, but was prevailed upon by her father to study medicine instead. She has said she opted for medicine because it was "a concrete way of helping people cope with pain" and "a way to contribute to improve health in Chile."
placed Bachelet's father in charge of the Food Distribution Office. When General Augusto Pinochet
came to power in the 11 September 1973 coup, General Bachelet, refusing exile, was detained at the Air War Academy under charges of treason
. Following months of daily torture at Santiago's Public Prison on 12 March 1974, he suffered a cardiac arrest
that resulted in his death. On 10 January 1975, Bachelet and her mother were detained at their apartment by two DINA agents, who blindfolded them and drove them to Villa Grimaldi
, a notorious secret detention center in Santiago, where they were separated and submitted to interrogation and torture. Some days later they were transferred to Cuatro Álamos ("Four Poplars") detention center, where they were held until the end of January. Later in 1975, thanks to sympathetic connections in the military, both were exiled to Australia
, where Bachelet's older brother Alberto had moved in 1969.
In May 1975, Bachelet left Australia and later moved to East Germany, to an apartment assigned to her by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) government in Am Stern, Potsdam
; her mother joined her a month later, living separately in Leipzig
. In October 1976 she began working at a communal clinic in the Babelsberg neighborhood, as a preparation step to continue her medical studies at an East German university. During this period she met architect Jorge Leopoldo Dávalos Cartes, another Chilean exile, whom she married in 1977. In January 1978 she went to Leipzig to learn German
at the Karl Marx University's Herder Institute (now the University of Leipzig
). Her first child with Dávalos, Jorge Alberto Sebastián, was born there in June 1978. She returned to Potsdam in September 1978 to continue her medical studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin
for two years. Five months after enrolling as a student, however, she obtained authorization to return to her country.
; her petition was, however, rejected by the military government on "political grounds." Instead, because of her academic performance and published papers, she earned a scholarship to specialize in pediatrics
and public health
at Roberto del Río Children's Hospital (1983–1986). During this time she also worked at PIDEE (Protection of Children Injured by States of Emergency Foundation), a non-governmental organization
helping children of the tortured and missing in Santiago and Chillán
. She was head of the foundation's Medical Department between 1986 and 1990. Some time after her second child with Dávalos, Francisca Valentina, was born in February 1984, she and her husband legally separated. Between 1985 and 1987, Bachelet had a romantic relationship with Alex Vojkovic Trier, an engineer and spokesman for the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front
, an armed group which among other activities attempted to assassinate Pinochet in 1986. This affair turned into a minor issue during her presidential campaign, during which she argued that she never supported any of Vojkovic's activities.
In 1990, after democracy was restored in Chile
, Bachelet worked for the Ministry of Health's West Santiago Health Service and was a consultant for the Pan-American Health Organization, the World Health Organization
and the German Corporation for Technical Cooperation
. While working for the National AIDS Commission (Conasida) she became romantically involved with Aníbal Hernán Henríquez Marich, a fellow physician
—and right-wing Pinochet supporter—who fathered her third child, Sofía Catalina, in December 1992; their relationship ended, however, a few years later. Between March 1994 and July 1997, Bachelet worked as Senior Assistant to the Deputy Health Minister. Driven by an interest in civil-military relations, in 1996 Bachelet began studies in military strategy
at the National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE) in Chile, obtaining first place in her class. Her student achievement earned her a presidential scholarship, permitting her to continue her studies in the United States
at the Inter-American Defense College
in Washington, D.C.
, completing a Continental Defense Course in 1998. That same year she returned to Chile to work for the Defense Ministry as Senior Assistant to the Defense Minister. She subsequently graduated from a Master's
program in military science
at the Chilean Army
's War Academy.
(then presided by future deputy and later disappeared physician Carlos Lorca
, who has been cited as her political mentor), and was an active supporter of the Popular Unity
. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, she and her mother worked as couriers for the underground Socialist Party
directorate that was trying to organize a resistance movement
; eventually almost all of them were captured and disappeared
. Following her return from exile she became politically active during the second half of the 1980s, fighting —though not on the front line—for the re-establishment of democracy in Chile. In 1995 she became part of the party's Central Committee, and from 1998 until 2000 she was an active member of the Political Commission.
In 1996 Bachelet ran against future presidential adversary Joaquín Lavín
for the mayorship of Las Condes
, a wealthy Santiago suburb and a right-wing stronghold. Lavín won the 22-candidate election with nearly 78% of the vote, while she finished fourth with 2.35%. At the 1999 presidential primary of the Concert of Parties for Democracy (CPD), Chile's governing coalition from 1990 to 2010, she worked for Ricardo Lagos's nomination, heading the Santiago electoral zone.
On March 11, 2000 Bachelet—virtually unknown at the time—was appointed Minister of Health by President Ricardo Lagos. She began an in-depth study of the public health-care system that led to the AUGE plan a few years later. She was also given the task of eliminating waiting lists in the saturated public hospital system within the first 100 days of Lagos's government. She reduced waiting lists by 90%, but was unable to eliminate them completely and offered her resignation, which was promptly rejected by the President. Controversially, she allowed free distribution of the morning-after pill for victims of sexual abuse
.
On January 7, 2002 Bachelet was appointed Defense Minister, becoming the first woman to hold this post in a Latin American country and one of the few in the world. While Minister of Defense she promoted reconciliatory gestures between the military and victims of the dictatorship, culminating in the historic 2003 declaration by General Juan Emilio Cheyre
, head of the army, that "never again" would the military subvert democracy in Chile. She also oversaw a reform of the military pension system and continued with the process of modernization of the Chilean armed forces with the purchasing of new military equipment, while engaging in international peace operations.
A moment which has been cited as key to Bachelet's chances to the presidency came during a flood in northern Santiago where she, as Defense Minister, led a rescue operation on top of an amphibious tank
, wearing a cloak and military cap.
An open primary
scheduled for July 2005 to define the sole presidential candidate of the CPD was canceled after Bachelet's only rival, Christian Democrat
Soledad Alvear
, a cabinet member in the first three CPD administrations, pulled out early due to a lack of support within her own party and in opinion polls.
At the December 2005 election, Bachelet faced the center-right candidate Sebastián Piñera
(RN
), the right-wing candidate Joaquín Lavín
(UDI) and the leftist candidate Tomás Hirsch
(JPM
). As predicted by opinion polls, she failed to obtain the absolute majority needed to win the election outright, winning 46% of the vote. In the runoff election on January 15, 2006, Bachelet faced Piñera, and won the presidency with 53.5% of the vote, thus becoming her country's first female elected president and the first woman who was not the wife of a previous head of state or political leader to reach the presidency of a Latin America
n nation in a direct election
.
On January 30, 2006, after being declared President-elect by the Elections Qualifying Court (Tricel), Bachelet announced her cabinet of ministers, which was unprecedentedly composed of an equal number of men and women, as was promised during her campaign. In keeping with the coalition's internal balance of power
she named seven ministers from the Christian Democrat Party
(PDC), five from the Party for Democracy
(PPD), four from the Socialist Party
(PS), one from the Social Democrat Radical Party
(PRSD) and three without party affiliation. In the days that followed, she named the group of deputy ministers and regional intendants, following the same rule of "gender parity."
Bachelet was sworn in as President of the Republic of Chile on March 11, 2006 in a ceremony held in a plenary session of the National Congress
in Valparaíso
which was attended by many foreign heads of states and delegates.
In March 2006 Bachelet created an advisory committee on pension reform, headed by former budget director Mario Marcel. The commission issued its final report in July 2006. One of its proposals was to raise the retirement age for women, which Bachelet soundly rejected.
Bachelet's first political crisis came in late April 2006, when massive high school student demonstrations
—unseen in three decades—broke out throughout the country, demanding a rise of quality levels in public education. In July she had a disastrous public relations incident when a group of residents she was visiting in the southern city of Chiguayante
that were affected by a landslide berated her publicly on television, accusing her of using their tragedy to boost her falling popularity. One woman demanded that she left the scene so rescue efforts could continue. These protests, and a sharp drop in her popularity, forced Bachelet to reshuffle her cabinet after only four months in office—a record in the country's history.
In June 2006 Bachelet sought to dampen the student protests by setting up an 81-member advisor committee, including education experts from all political backgrounds, representatives of ethnic groups, parents, teachers, students, school owners, university rectors, people from diverse religious denominations, etc. Its purpose was to propose changes to the country's educational system and serve as a forum to share ideas and views. The committee issued its final report in December 2006.
In August 2006 Bachelet inaugurated a new subway line, serving southern Santiago, and in December 2006 she opened new stations, extending an existing subway line. The final months of 2006 were marred by reports of alleged misspending of public funds, specially in Chiledeportes, a government sports funding organization. There were also accusations of misappropriation of funds channeled through phantom firms, and identity theft to fund congressional campaigns in late 2005. The scandal prompted Bachelet to present an anti-corruption plan in late November.
In December 2006 former dictator Augusto Pinochet died. Bachelet decided not to grant him a state funeral
, an honour bestowed upon constitutionally elected Chilean presidents, but a military funeral
as former commander-in-chief
of the Army appointed by President Salvador Allende. She also refused to declare an official national day of mourning
, but it did authorize flags at military barracks to fly at half staff. Pinochet's coffin was also allowed to be draped in a Chilean flag. Bachelet did not attend his funeral saying it would be "a violation of [her] conscience" and sent Defense Minister, Vivianne Blanlot
.
Other issues faced by Bachelet during her first year included issuing a controversial decree allowing for the free distribution of the "morning-after pill" to women older than 14 years of age without parental consent, a nine-month Executive-Congress deadlock over the naming of a new Controller General, and a difficult implementation of a new public transport system for the capital, called Transantiago
, and designed under President Lagos. This last issue escalated into a major crisis that damaged her popularity and which resulted in a second cabinet adjustment two weeks into her second year.
Bachelet's popularity dipped in her second year, reaching a low of 35% approval, 46% disapproval in September 2007. This fall was mainly attributed to the Transantiago fiasco, put into motion in February that year. On her decision not to abort the plan's start, she said in April 2007 she was given erroneous information which caused her to act against her "instincts." That same month she had a second negative incident when a group of earthquake and tsunami
victims she was visiting in the southern region of Aisén received her bearing black flags, and accused her of showing up late. The city mayor, who told Bachelet to "go to hell", later apologized.
In November and December of 2007, following months of discussions, Bachelet reached preliminary agreements with the opposition on the issues of education and pension reform, and measures to tackle urban crime. On the economic side, while the year saw the lowest unemployment rates since 1998, and growth was forecast to be above 5% (better than 2006's disappointing 4%), inflation was nearly twice the Central Bank's upper target of 4%—due to a rise in food prices, the result of a harsh winter that cut harvests—and the peso
strengthened to an eight-year high against the US dollar, hurting exporters.
In January 2008 Bachelet shook up her cabinet for the third time, prompted by the unexpected resignation of her Interior Minister Belisario Velasco. On 11 March 2008 she celebrated the start of her third year in office by signing the pension reform bill into law, which established a Basic Solidarity Pension (PBS) and a Solidarity Pension Contribution (APS), guaranteeing a minimum pension for people in the 60% poorest segment of the population, regardless of their contribution history. The reform also grants a bonus to female pensioners for every child born alive. In April 2008, her Education Minister Yasna Provoste
was impeached
by Congress for her handling of a scandal involving mismanagement of school subsidies. Her conviction —the first for a minister in 36 years— was controversial and highly politicized. In August 2008 Bachelet signed a freedom of information
bill into law, which became effective in April 2009.
In September 2008 Chile's Constitutional Court declared a US$400 million loan by the Inter-American Development Bank
to fund the Transantiago
transport system unconstitutional. Bachelet —who had been forced to ask for the loan after Congress had refused to approve funds for the beleaguered program in November 2007— made use of an emergency clause in the Constitution
that grants funds equivalent to 2% of the fiscal budget. In November 2008 she invoked the emergency clause again after Congress once again denied funds for the system for 2009.
In January 2009 Bachelet unveiled a US$4 billion economic stimulus package to cope with the global financial crisis
. In March 2009 she reshuffled her cabinet for the fourth time, following the resignation of her Foreign Affairs Minister, Alejandro Foxley
. That same month she made good of a promise to award free computers to poor seventh graders with excellent academic performance studying in government-subsidized schools, via the "I Choose my PC" program. In June 2009 Bachelet introduced pay equality legislation
, guaranteeing equal pay for equal work in the private sector, regardless of gender. Two months later she signed the education reform bill into law, which created two new regulatory bodies: a Superintendency on Education and a Quality Agency. In September 2009 Bachelet signed the "Chile Grows with You" plan into law, providing comprehensive social services to vulnerable children from ages zero to six. That law also established a social welfare management framework called the "Intersectoral Social Protection System", made up of subsystems, such as "Chile Solidario" and "Chile Grows with You". That same month she announced Chile would adopt the Japanese standard ISDB-T with MPEG-4
for digital terrestrial television
, joining Argentina and Peru.
In December 2009 Bachelet announced the construction of a new subway line in Santiago, to be operational in 2014. In January 2010 she inaugurated new subway stations in Santiago, originally announced by the Lagos Administration in November 2005. Also in January she opened the Museum of Memory in Santiago, documenting the horrors of Pinochet's 16-and-a-half year dictatorship. On 18 January 2010, Bachelet promulgated a law allowing the distribution of emergency contraception pills
in public and private health centers, including to persons under 14, without parental consent. The law also requires high school
s to add a sexual education program to their curriculum. That same month she enacted a law creating the Ministry for the Environment. The new legislation also created the Environmental Evaluation Service and the Superintendency for the Environment.
On 27 February 2010, on the last week of summer vacation
s and less than two weeks before Bachelet's term expired, Chile was ravaged by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake
that killed more than 500 people, toppled apartment buildings and bridges and triggered tsunamis that wiped away entire fishing villages. Bachelet and the government were criticized for the slow response to the disaster, which hit on a Saturday at 3:34 in the morning and left most of the country without electricity, phone or Internet access. Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe
" and on Sunday afternoon sent military troops to the most affected areas in an effort to quell scenes of looting and arson. She also imposed night curfew
s in the most affected cities. She was criticized for not deploying the troops fast enough.
Bachelet began her term with an unprecedented absolute majority in both chambers of Congress—before appointed senators were eliminated in the 2005 constitutional reforms the CPD never had a majority in the Senate—but she was soon faced with internal opposition coming from a number of dissatisfied lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, the so-called díscolos ("disobedient," "ungovernable"), which jeopardized the coalition's narrow—and historic—Congress majority on a number of key executive-sponsored bills during much of her first half in office, and forced her to negotiate with a right-wing opposition she saw as being obstructionist. During the course of 2007 the CPD lost its absolute majority in both chambers of Congress, as several senators and deputies from that coalition became independent.
Bachelet was widely credited for resisting calls from politicians from her own coalition to spend the huge copper revenues to close the country's income gap. Instead in 2007 she created the Economic and Social Stabilization Fund, a sovereign wealth fund
which accumulates fiscal surpluses which are above 1% of GDP. This strategy allowed her to finance new social policies and provide economic stimulus packages when the 2008 financial crisis hit the country, lowering the value of its exports by 30%. At the onset of the crisis in September 2008
Bachelet's popularity was at a low 42%. But when she left office in March 2010 her job approval rating was at a record 84%, according to conservative polling institute Adimark GfK. The Chilean Constitution
does not allow a president to serve two consecutive terms and Bachelet endorsed CPD candidate Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
for the December 2009 election. Bachelet has not ruled out a return to the presidency at the next elections in 2013.
Bachelet's administration sought to make social protection and the promotion of equality of opportunity her main priority. During her presidency, the welfare state was signficantly expanded and the number of Chileans living in poverty was reduced. Amongst other measures, the Bachelet Administration built 3,500 crèches daycare for poorer children, introduced a universal minimum state pension and extended free health care to cover many serious conditions.
A new housing policy aimed at abolishing the last remaining shanty-towns in Chile by 2010 featured grants to the poorest families. Some of them had to pay just US$400 for a house costing about US$20,000.
During her first year in office Bachelet faced continuing problems from neighbors Argentina
and Peru
. In July 2006 she sent a letter of protest
to Argentine president
Néstor Kirchner
after his government issued a decree increasing export tariffs of natural gas
to Chile, which was considered by Bachelet to be a violation of a tacit bilateral agreement. A month later a long-standing border dispute
resurfaced after Argentina published some tourist maps showing contested territory in the south—the Southern Patagonian Ice Field
(Campo de Hielo Patagónico Sur)—as Argentine, violating an agreement not to define a border over the area. In early 2007 Peru accused Chile of unilaterally redefining their shared sea boundary in a law, passed by Congress, which detailed the borders of the new administrative region of Arica and Parinacota. The impasse was resolved by the Chilean Constitutional Tribunal, which declared the particular section of the law unconstitutional. In March 2007, the Chilean state-owned—but editorially independent—television channel TVN
cancelled the broadcast of a documentary about the War of the Pacific
after a cautionary call was made to the stations' board of directors by Chilean Foreign Relations Minister Alejandro Foxley
, apparently acting on demands made by the Peruvian ambassador to Chile; the show was finally broadcast in late May of that year. In August 2007 the Chilean government filed a formal diplomatic protest to Peru and summoned home its ambassador, after Peru published an official map claiming a part of the Pacific Ocean
that Chile considers its sovereign territory. Peru said this was just another step in its plans to bring the dispute to the International Court of Justice
in The Hague
. In January 2008 Peru asked the court to consider the dispute, prompting Bachelet to summon home the Chilean ambassador in Lima
for consultations.
Chile's October 16, 2006 vote in the United Nations Security Council election—with Venezuela
and Guatemala
deadlocked in a bid for the two-year, non-permanent Latin American and Caribbean seat on the Security Council
—developed into a major ideological issue in the country and was seen as a test for Bachelet. The governing coalition was divided between the Socialists, who supported a vote for Venezuela, and the Christian Democrats, who strongly opposed it. The day before the vote the president announced (through her spokesman) that Chile would abstain, citing as reason a lack of regional consensus over a single candidate, ending months of speculation. In March 2007 Chile's ambassador to Venezuela, Claudio Huepe
, revealed in an interview with teleSUR
that Bachelet personally told him that she initially wanted to vote for Venezuela, but then "there were a series of circumstances that forced me to abstain." The government quickly recalled Huepe and accepted his resignation.
In October 2007 Bachelet granted an amnesty to undocumented migrants
from other Latin American countries. The measure was expected to benefit around 15,000 Peruvians and 2,000 Bolivians. In December 2007 Bachelet signed in Bolivia
a trilateral agreement with the presidents of Brazil
and Bolivia to complete and improve a 4,700 km road to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, via Arica
and Iquique
in Chile and Santos in Brazil. In May 2008, following months of intense lobbying, Chile was elected as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council
, obtaining the largest vote among Latin American countries.
In May 2008 Bachelet became the first President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and in September she called for an urgent summit, after Bolivian President Evo Morales
warned of a possible coup attempt
against him. The presidents of Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Brasil and Colombia, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States
, met with Bachelet at the La Moneda Palace in Santiago, where they agreed to send two commissions to Bolivia: one to mediate between the executive and the opposition, and another to investigate the killings in Pando Department
. That same month Chile sent a letter of protest to Venezuela after Caracas
expelled the director of Human Rights Watch
's Americas
division José Miguel Vivanco, a Chilean national.
In February 2009 Bachelet visited Cuba
and met with Fidel Castro
. There she urged the United States to put an end to the embargo. No Chilean head of state had visited the country in 37 years. The meeting with Castro backfired after the Cuban leader wrote, a day later, that the "fascist and vengeful Chilean oligarchy is the same which more than 100 years ago robbed Bolivia of its access to the Pacific and of copper-rich lands in a humiliating war."
In March 2009, Bachelet hosted in Viña del Mar
, the "Progressive Leaders Summit", meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden
, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
and Presidents Tabaré Vázquez
of Uruguay, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
of Brazil and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
of Argentina. The reunion garnered some media interest because it took place six days before the highly-anticipated G-20 Summit
in London
.
In December 2009 Chile became the first country in South America
and second in Latin America after Mexico
to receive an invitation to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD). Bachelet signed the accession agreement in January 2010, but it formally became a member in May 2010, after she had left office.
Continuing the coalition's free-trade strategy, in August 2006 Bachelet promulgated a free trade agreement with the People's Republic of China
(signed under the previous administration of Ricardo Lagos), the first Chinese free-trade agreement with a Latin American nation; similar deals with Japan and India were promulgated in August 2007. In October 2006, Bachelet promulgated a multilateral trade deal with New Zealand
, Singapore
and Brunei
, the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership
(P4), also signed under Lagos' presidency. She also held free-trade talks with other countries, including Australia
, Vietnam
, Turkey
and Malaysia. Regionally, she signed bilateral free trade agreements with Panama
, Peru
and Colombia
.
, a suburb of Santiago.
On 14 September 2010 Bachelet was appointed as head of the newly created body UN Women
by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
. She took office on 19 September 2010.
Bachelet is a member of the Club of Madrid
, the world’s largest forum of former heads of state and government.
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Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...
politician who was President of Chile
President of Chile
The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country. In September 2010 Bachelet was appointed as the head of UN Women
UN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women and girls....
by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
.
Bachelet won the 2006 presidential election
Chilean presidential election, 2005-2006
A presidential election took place in Chile on Sunday, December 11, 2005. None of the four candidates received an absolute majority, thus a runoff election among the top two candidates —Michelle Bachelet from the Coalition of Parties for Democracy and Sebastián Piñera from National Renewal— was...
in a runoff, beating center-right businessman and former senator Sebastián Piñera
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
(who eventually succeeded Bachelet as President) with 53.5% of the vote. She campaigned on a platform of continuing Chile's free-market policies, while increasing social benefits
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
to help reduce the gap between rich and poor.
Bachelet, a pediatrician
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
and epidemiologist with studies in military strategy
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
, served as Health Minister and Defense Minister under her predecessor, President Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Lagos
Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar is a lawyer, economist and social democrat politician, who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. He won the 1999-2000 presidential election by a narrow margin in a runoff over Independent Democrat Union candidate Joaquín Lavín...
. She is a separated
Legal separation
Legal separation is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a de facto separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is granted in the form of a court order, which can be in the form of a legally binding consent decree...
mother of three and describes herself as an agnostic
Agnosticism
Agnosticism is the view that the truth value of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, but also other religious and metaphysical claims—is unknown or unknowable....
. As well as her native Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, she speaks English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, with varying levels of fluency.
Family background
Bachelet is the second child of archaeologist Ángela Jeria Gómez and Air ForceChilean Air Force
The Chilean Air Force is the air force of Chile, a branch of the Chilean military.-History:The first step towards the current FACh was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell, when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France...
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Alberto Bachelet Martínez
Alberto Bachelet
Alberto Arturo Miguel Bachelet Martínez was a Brigadier General of the Chilean Air Force. He opposed the 1973 coup of General Augusto Pinochet, and was imprisoned and subject to torture for several months until his death in 1974 of heart problems at the hands of the dictatorship.Bachelet was born...
. Her paternal great-great-grandfather, Louis-Joseph Bachelet Lapierre, was a French
French Chilean
A French Chilean is an Chilean citizen of full or partial French ancestry. Between 1840 and 1940, 20,000 to 25,000 French people immigrated to Chile...
wine merchant from Chassagne-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet
Chassagne-Montrachet is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.It used to be known under the name Chassagne-le-Haut, but the name was changed to Chassagne-Montrachet by a decrete on November 27, 1879...
who emigrated to Chile with his Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian wife, Françoise Jeanne Beault, in 1860 hired as a wine-making expert by the Subercaseaux vineyards in southern Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
. Bachelet Lapierre's son, Germán—Michelle Bachelet's great-grandfather—was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1862, and married in 1891 to Luisa Brandt Cadot, a Chilean of French-Swiss
Swiss Chilean
There are currently 5,000 Swiss citizens residing in Chile and 90,000 with Swiss descendants.- Immigration :The number of Swiss in Chile is minor, despite having a relatively large number of members. This is because their linguistic and cultural characteristics are commonly confused with Germans,...
origin, giving birth in 1894 to Michelle Bachelet's grandfather Alberto Bachelet Brandt. Her maternal great-grandfather, Máximo Jeria Chacón, of alleged Greek heritage, was the first person to receive a degree in agronomic engineering
Agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants for food, fuel, feed, fiber, and reclamation. Agronomy encompasses work in the areas of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and soil science. Agronomy is the application of a combination of sciences like biology,...
in Chile and founded several agronomy schools in the country. He married Lely Johnson, the daughter of an English physician working in Chile. Their son, Máximo Jeria Johnson, married Angela Gómez Zamora. Their union produced five children, the fourth of whom became Michelle Bachelet's mother.
Childhood years
Bachelet was born in SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, and spent many of her childhood years traveling around her native Chile, moving with her family from one military base
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
to another. She lived and attended primary school in Quintero
Quintero
Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of .-History:The name of the city comes from Alonso Quintero, the Spanish navigator who discovered the bay in 1536 when he arrived on the ship Santiaguillo.-Demographics:According to the 2002...
, Cerro Moreno, Antofagasta
Antofagasta
Antofagasta is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2002 census, the city has a population of 296,905...
and San Bernardo
San Bernardo
San Bernardo may refer to:In Mexico:*San Bernardo, Baja California Sur*San Bernardo, Chihuahua*San Bernardo, Coahuila*San Bernardo, Durango*San Bernardo, Guanajuato *San Bernardo, Hidalgo *San Bernardo Tlamimilolpan, Mexico State...
. In 1962 she moved with her family to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where her father was assigned to the military mission at the Chilean Embassy in Washington, DC, USA. Her family lived for almost two years in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
, where she attended Western Junior High School (now Westland Middle School
Westland Middle School
Westland Middle School is a public school in Bethesda in unincorporated Montgomery County, Maryland. It opened in 1952 as Western Junior High School, it then changed its name to Westland Jr. High School when it merged with Leland Junior High School, and later to Westland Intermediate School...
) and learned to speak English fluently. Returning to Chile in 1964, she graduated from high school in 1969 at Liceo Nº 1 Javiera Carrera, a prestigious girls' public school, finishing near the top of her class. There she was president of her class, a member of the school's choir and volleyball teams, and part of a theater group and a music band called Las Clap Clap which she helped found, that toured around several school festivals. She entered medical school at the University of Chile in 1970, after obtaining one of the highest national scores in the university admission test. She originally wanted to study sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
or economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, but was prevailed upon by her father to study medicine instead. She has said she opted for medicine because it was "a concrete way of helping people cope with pain" and "a way to contribute to improve health in Chile."
Torture and exile
Facing growing food shortages, the government of Salvador AllendeSalvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
placed Bachelet's father in charge of the Food Distribution Office. When General Augusto Pinochet
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte, more commonly known as Augusto Pinochet , was a Chilean army general and dictator who assumed power in a coup d'état on 11 September 1973...
came to power in the 11 September 1973 coup, General Bachelet, refusing exile, was detained at the Air War Academy under charges of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
. Following months of daily torture at Santiago's Public Prison on 12 March 1974, he suffered a cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest, is the cessation of normal circulation of the blood due to failure of the heart to contract effectively...
that resulted in his death. On 10 January 1975, Bachelet and her mother were detained at their apartment by two DINA agents, who blindfolded them and drove them to Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi
Villa Grimaldi was a complex of buildings used for the interrogation and torture of political prisoners by DINA, the Chilean secret police, during the government of Augusto Pinochet. The complex was located in Peñalolén, in the outskirts of Santiago, and was in operation from mid-1974 to mid-1978...
, a notorious secret detention center in Santiago, where they were separated and submitted to interrogation and torture. Some days later they were transferred to Cuatro Álamos ("Four Poplars") detention center, where they were held until the end of January. Later in 1975, thanks to sympathetic connections in the military, both were exiled to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where Bachelet's older brother Alberto had moved in 1969.
In May 1975, Bachelet left Australia and later moved to East Germany, to an apartment assigned to her by the German Democratic Republic (GDR) government in Am Stern, Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
; her mother joined her a month later, living separately in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. In October 1976 she began working at a communal clinic in the Babelsberg neighborhood, as a preparation step to continue her medical studies at an East German university. During this period she met architect Jorge Leopoldo Dávalos Cartes, another Chilean exile, whom she married in 1977. In January 1978 she went to Leipzig to learn German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
at the Karl Marx University's Herder Institute (now the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
). Her first child with Dávalos, Jorge Alberto Sebastián, was born there in June 1978. She returned to Potsdam in September 1978 to continue her medical studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
for two years. Five months after enrolling as a student, however, she obtained authorization to return to her country.
Return to Chile
In February 1979, Bachelet returned to Chile from East Germany. Her medical school credits from the GDR were not transferred, forcing her to resume her studies from where she had left off before fleeing the country. She graduated as M.D. on January 7, 1983. She wished to work in the public sector wherever attention was most needed, applying for a position as general practitionerGeneral practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
; her petition was, however, rejected by the military government on "political grounds." Instead, because of her academic performance and published papers, she earned a scholarship to specialize in pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
and public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
at Roberto del Río Children's Hospital (1983–1986). During this time she also worked at PIDEE (Protection of Children Injured by States of Emergency Foundation), a non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
helping children of the tortured and missing in Santiago and Chillán
Chillán
Chillán is a city in the Biobío Region of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of Ñuble Province and, with a population of approximately 170,000 people , the most populated urban center of this province...
. She was head of the foundation's Medical Department between 1986 and 1990. Some time after her second child with Dávalos, Francisca Valentina, was born in February 1984, she and her husband legally separated. Between 1985 and 1987, Bachelet had a romantic relationship with Alex Vojkovic Trier, an engineer and spokesman for the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front
Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front
The Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front , also known as El Frente Patriótico, or simply El Frente, is a left-wing urban guerrilla movement in Chile, named for a figure in Chile's independence movement, Manuel Rodríguez. The group was founded on September 14, 1983 as an armed resistance against the...
, an armed group which among other activities attempted to assassinate Pinochet in 1986. This affair turned into a minor issue during her presidential campaign, during which she argued that she never supported any of Vojkovic's activities.
In 1990, after democracy was restored in Chile
Chilean transition to democracy
The Chilean transition to democracy began when a Constitution establishing a transition itinerary was approved in a plebiscite. From March 11, 1981 to March 11, 1990, several organic constitutional laws were approved leading to the final restoration of democracy...
, Bachelet worked for the Ministry of Health's West Santiago Health Service and was a consultant for the Pan-American Health Organization, the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
and the German Corporation for Technical Cooperation
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit or GIZ is an international enterprise founded in 1975 by Erhard Eppler and owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. It primarily works for public-sector organizations and is...
. While working for the National AIDS Commission (Conasida) she became romantically involved with Aníbal Hernán Henríquez Marich, a fellow physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
—and right-wing Pinochet supporter—who fathered her third child, Sofía Catalina, in December 1992; their relationship ended, however, a few years later. Between March 1994 and July 1997, Bachelet worked as Senior Assistant to the Deputy Health Minister. Driven by an interest in civil-military relations, in 1996 Bachelet began studies in military strategy
Military strategy
Military strategy is a set of ideas implemented by military organizations to pursue desired strategic goals. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy when it appeared in use during the 18th century, was seen in its narrow sense as the "art of the general", 'the art of arrangement' of troops...
at the National Academy of Political and Strategic Studies (ANEPE) in Chile, obtaining first place in her class. Her student achievement earned her a presidential scholarship, permitting her to continue her studies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the Inter-American Defense College
Inter-American Defense College
The Inter-American Defense College is an international educational institution located in Washington D.C., United States, operating under the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Defense Board ....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, completing a Continental Defense Course in 1998. That same year she returned to Chile to work for the Defense Ministry as Senior Assistant to the Defense Minister. She subsequently graduated from a Master's
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
program in military science
Military science
Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for...
at the Chilean Army
Military of Chile
Chile's armed forces are subject to civilian control exercised by the president through the Minister of Defense. Military service of 12 to 24 months is mandatory for all male citizens upon turning 18. This conscription service can be postponed for educational or religious reasons...
's War Academy.
Involvement in politics
In her first year as a university student (1970), Bachelet became a member of the Socialist YouthSocialist Youth
The names Socialist Youth or Socialist Youth League have been used by several political youth organizations around the world:*India - Democratic Youth Federation of India and Students' Federation of India...
(then presided by future deputy and later disappeared physician Carlos Lorca
Carlos Lorca
Carlos Enrique Lorca Tobar , was a Chilean physician, president of the Students' Federation and then deputy for Valdivia province and leader of the Socialist Party of Chile....
, who has been cited as her political mentor), and was an active supporter of the Popular Unity
Popular Unity
Unidad Popular was a coalition of left wing, socialist and communist political parties in Chile that stood behind the successful candidacy of Salvador Allende for the 1970 Chilean presidential election....
. In the immediate aftermath of the coup, she and her mother worked as couriers for the underground Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...
directorate that was trying to organize a resistance movement
Resistance movement
A resistance movement is a group or collection of individual groups, dedicated to opposing an invader in an occupied country or the government of a sovereign state. It may seek to achieve its objects through either the use of nonviolent resistance or the use of armed force...
; eventually almost all of them were captured and disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
. Following her return from exile she became politically active during the second half of the 1980s, fighting —though not on the front line—for the re-establishment of democracy in Chile. In 1995 she became part of the party's Central Committee, and from 1998 until 2000 she was an active member of the Political Commission.
In 1996 Bachelet ran against future presidential adversary Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín José Lavín Infante is a Chilean politician and economist. He is a member of the Independent Democrat Union party and former mayor of Santiago and Las Condes municipalities of capital Santiago...
for the mayorship of Las Condes
Las Condes
Las Condes is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The area is inhabited primarily by upper-mid to high income families...
, a wealthy Santiago suburb and a right-wing stronghold. Lavín won the 22-candidate election with nearly 78% of the vote, while she finished fourth with 2.35%. At the 1999 presidential primary of the Concert of Parties for Democracy (CPD), Chile's governing coalition from 1990 to 2010, she worked for Ricardo Lagos's nomination, heading the Santiago electoral zone.
Work as minister
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
.
On January 7, 2002 Bachelet was appointed Defense Minister, becoming the first woman to hold this post in a Latin American country and one of the few in the world. While Minister of Defense she promoted reconciliatory gestures between the military and victims of the dictatorship, culminating in the historic 2003 declaration by General Juan Emilio Cheyre
Juan Emilio Cheyre
Juan Emilio Cheyre Espinoza is a retired Chilean Army General. He was Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army from 2002 to 2006...
, head of the army, that "never again" would the military subvert democracy in Chile. She also oversaw a reform of the military pension system and continued with the process of modernization of the Chilean armed forces with the purchasing of new military equipment, while engaging in international peace operations.
A moment which has been cited as key to Bachelet's chances to the presidency came during a flood in northern Santiago where she, as Defense Minister, led a rescue operation on top of an amphibious tank
Amphibious vehicle
An amphibious vehicle , is a vehicle or craft, that is a means of transport, viable on land as well as on water – just like an amphibian....
, wearing a cloak and military cap.
Presidential candidacy
In late 2004, following a surge of her popularity in opinion polls, Bachelet was established as the only CPD figure able to defeat Lavín, and she was asked to become the Socialists' candidate for the presidency. She was at first hesitant to accept the nomination as it was never one of her goals, but finally agreed because she felt she could not disappoint her supporters. On October 1 of that year she was freed from her government post in order to begin her campaign and to help the CPD at the municipal elections held later that month. On January 28, 2005 she was named the Socialist Party's candidate for president.An open primary
Open primary
An open primary is a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. In a traditional open primary, voters may select one party's ballot and vote for that party's nomination. As in a closed primary, the highest voted...
scheduled for July 2005 to define the sole presidential candidate of the CPD was canceled after Bachelet's only rival, Christian Democrat
Christian Democrat Party of Chile
The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Chile and governs as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. In the 2009 election it won 19 congress seats and 9 senate seats....
Soledad Alvear
Soledad Alvear
María Soledad Alvear Valenzuela , is a Chilean lawyer and Christian Democrat politician, who was a cabinet member of the Aylwin, Frei and Lagos administrations. She was president of the Christian Democrat Party from 2006-2008...
, a cabinet member in the first three CPD administrations, pulled out early due to a lack of support within her own party and in opinion polls.
At the December 2005 election, Bachelet faced the center-right candidate Sebastián Piñera
Sebastián Piñera
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean businessman and politician. He was elected President of Chile in January 2010, taking office in March 2010.- Education :...
(RN
National Renewal (Chile)
National Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement...
), the right-wing candidate Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín José Lavín Infante is a Chilean politician and economist. He is a member of the Independent Democrat Union party and former mayor of Santiago and Las Condes municipalities of capital Santiago...
(UDI) and the leftist candidate Tomás Hirsch
Tomás Hirsch
Tomás René Hirsch Goldschmidt is a leftist Chilean politician and businessman. He was the Together We Can Do More pact candidate for the 2005 Chilean presidential election, winning 5.4% of the vote.- Biography :...
(JPM
Juntos Podemos Más
Juntos Podemos Más por Chile is a political coalition created in 2003, consisting of the Communist Party of Chile, the Humanist Party, the Christian Left Party of Chile, and several other smaller left-wing organizations.The...
). As predicted by opinion polls, she failed to obtain the absolute majority needed to win the election outright, winning 46% of the vote. In the runoff election on January 15, 2006, Bachelet faced Piñera, and won the presidency with 53.5% of the vote, thus becoming her country's first female elected president and the first woman who was not the wife of a previous head of state or political leader to reach the presidency of a Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n nation in a direct election
Direct election
Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...
.
On January 30, 2006, after being declared President-elect by the Elections Qualifying Court (Tricel), Bachelet announced her cabinet of ministers, which was unprecedentedly composed of an equal number of men and women, as was promised during her campaign. In keeping with the coalition's internal balance of power
Balance of power (parliament)
In parliamentary politics, the term balance of power sometimes describes the pragmatic mechanism exercised by a minor political party or other grouping whose guaranteed support may enable an otherwise minority government to obtain and hold office...
she named seven ministers from the Christian Democrat Party
Christian Democrat Party of Chile
The Christian Democratic Party is a political party in Chile and governs as part of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. In the 2009 election it won 19 congress seats and 9 senate seats....
(PDC), five from the Party for Democracy
Party for Democracy
The Party for Democracy is a political party in Chile; it is social democratic in its political orientation. It was founded in December 1987 by Ricardo Lagos, who aimed at forming a legal social democratic party . The party continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet...
(PPD), four from the Socialist Party
Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...
(PS), one from the Social Democrat Radical Party
Social Democrat Radical Party
The Social Democratic Radical Party is a social democratic party in Chile.The party is a member of Socialist International....
(PRSD) and three without party affiliation. In the days that followed, she named the group of deputy ministers and regional intendants, following the same rule of "gender parity."
Presidency
National Congress of Chile
The National Congress is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile.The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811...
in Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
which was attended by many foreign heads of states and delegates.
Domestic affairs
Most of Bachelet's first three months as president were spent working on 36 measures she had promised during her campaign to implement during her first 100 days in office. They ranged from simple presidential decrees, such as providing free health care for older patients, to complex bills to reform the social security system and the electoral system.In March 2006 Bachelet created an advisory committee on pension reform, headed by former budget director Mario Marcel. The commission issued its final report in July 2006. One of its proposals was to raise the retirement age for women, which Bachelet soundly rejected.
Bachelet's first political crisis came in late April 2006, when massive high school student demonstrations
2006 student protests in Chile
The 2006 student protests in Chile were a series of ongoing student voice protests carried out by high school students across Chile from late April to early June 2006...
—unseen in three decades—broke out throughout the country, demanding a rise of quality levels in public education. In July she had a disastrous public relations incident when a group of residents she was visiting in the southern city of Chiguayante
Chiguayante
Chiguayante is a Chilean city and commune in Concepción Province, Biobío Region. It is part of Greater Concepción.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Chiguayante spans an area of and has 81,302 inhabitants . Of these, 81,238 lived in urban areas and 64...
that were affected by a landslide berated her publicly on television, accusing her of using their tragedy to boost her falling popularity. One woman demanded that she left the scene so rescue efforts could continue. These protests, and a sharp drop in her popularity, forced Bachelet to reshuffle her cabinet after only four months in office—a record in the country's history.
In August 2006 Bachelet inaugurated a new subway line, serving southern Santiago, and in December 2006 she opened new stations, extending an existing subway line. The final months of 2006 were marred by reports of alleged misspending of public funds, specially in Chiledeportes, a government sports funding organization. There were also accusations of misappropriation of funds channeled through phantom firms, and identity theft to fund congressional campaigns in late 2005. The scandal prompted Bachelet to present an anti-corruption plan in late November.
In December 2006 former dictator Augusto Pinochet died. Bachelet decided not to grant him a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
, an honour bestowed upon constitutionally elected Chilean presidents, but a military funeral
Military funeral
A military funeral is a specially orchestrated funeral given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards of honor, the firing of volley shots as a salute,...
as former commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Army appointed by President Salvador Allende. She also refused to declare an official national day of mourning
National day of mourning
A national day of mourning is a day marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by that nation's government...
, but it did authorize flags at military barracks to fly at half staff. Pinochet's coffin was also allowed to be draped in a Chilean flag. Bachelet did not attend his funeral saying it would be "a violation of [her] conscience" and sent Defense Minister, Vivianne Blanlot
Vivianne Blanlot
Vivianne Blanlot Soza is a Chilean economist and politician. She studied economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In 2006 Michelle Bachelet appointed her as Minister of National Defense. She acted as government envoy at the funeral of Augusto Pinochet where she faced boos from...
.
Other issues faced by Bachelet during her first year included issuing a controversial decree allowing for the free distribution of the "morning-after pill" to women older than 14 years of age without parental consent, a nine-month Executive-Congress deadlock over the naming of a new Controller General, and a difficult implementation of a new public transport system for the capital, called Transantiago
Transantiago
Transantiago is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertaken by a developing country according to the World Resources Institute....
, and designed under President Lagos. This last issue escalated into a major crisis that damaged her popularity and which resulted in a second cabinet adjustment two weeks into her second year.
Bachelet's popularity dipped in her second year, reaching a low of 35% approval, 46% disapproval in September 2007. This fall was mainly attributed to the Transantiago fiasco, put into motion in February that year. On her decision not to abort the plan's start, she said in April 2007 she was given erroneous information which caused her to act against her "instincts." That same month she had a second negative incident when a group of earthquake and tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
victims she was visiting in the southern region of Aisén received her bearing black flags, and accused her of showing up late. The city mayor, who told Bachelet to "go to hell", later apologized.
In November and December of 2007, following months of discussions, Bachelet reached preliminary agreements with the opposition on the issues of education and pension reform, and measures to tackle urban crime. On the economic side, while the year saw the lowest unemployment rates since 1998, and growth was forecast to be above 5% (better than 2006's disappointing 4%), inflation was nearly twice the Central Bank's upper target of 4%—due to a rise in food prices, the result of a harsh winter that cut harvests—and the peso
Chilean peso
The peso is the currency of Chile. The current peso has circulated since 1975, with a previous version circulating between 1817 and 1960. The symbol used locally for it is $. The ISO 4217 code for the present peso is CLP. It is subdivided into 100 centavos, although no centavo denominated coins...
strengthened to an eight-year high against the US dollar, hurting exporters.
In January 2008 Bachelet shook up her cabinet for the third time, prompted by the unexpected resignation of her Interior Minister Belisario Velasco. On 11 March 2008 she celebrated the start of her third year in office by signing the pension reform bill into law, which established a Basic Solidarity Pension (PBS) and a Solidarity Pension Contribution (APS), guaranteeing a minimum pension for people in the 60% poorest segment of the population, regardless of their contribution history. The reform also grants a bonus to female pensioners for every child born alive. In April 2008, her Education Minister Yasna Provoste
Yasna Provoste
Yasna Provoste Campillay is a Chilean teacher and Christian Democrat politician. She is the first minister to be impeached by Congress since democracy returned to Chile in 1990.-Education and political career:...
was impeached
Impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....
by Congress for her handling of a scandal involving mismanagement of school subsidies. Her conviction —the first for a minister in 36 years— was controversial and highly politicized. In August 2008 Bachelet signed a freedom of information
Freedom of information legislation
Freedom of information legislation comprises laws that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a "right-to-know" legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions...
bill into law, which became effective in April 2009.
In September 2008 Chile's Constitutional Court declared a US$400 million loan by the Inter-American Development Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
to fund the Transantiago
Transantiago
Transantiago is a public transport system that serves Santiago, the capital of Chile. It is considered the most ambitious transport reform undertaken by a developing country according to the World Resources Institute....
transport system unconstitutional. Bachelet —who had been forced to ask for the loan after Congress had refused to approve funds for the beleaguered program in November 2007— made use of an emergency clause in the Constitution
Constitution of Chile
In its temporary dispositions, the document ordered the transition from the former military government, with Augusto Pinochet as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta , to a civil one, with a time frame of eight...
that grants funds equivalent to 2% of the fiscal budget. In November 2008 she invoked the emergency clause again after Congress once again denied funds for the system for 2009.
In January 2009 Bachelet unveiled a US$4 billion economic stimulus package to cope with the global financial crisis
Late-2000s financial crisis
The late-2000s financial crisis is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s...
. In March 2009 she reshuffled her cabinet for the fourth time, following the resignation of her Foreign Affairs Minister, Alejandro Foxley
Alejandro Foxley
Alejandro Tomás Foxley Rioseco is a Chilean economist and politician. He was the Foreign Minister of Chile from 2006 to 2009 and previously served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1994 and leader of the Christian Democrat Party from 1994 to 1996.-Education and personal life:Foxley received a...
. That same month she made good of a promise to award free computers to poor seventh graders with excellent academic performance studying in government-subsidized schools, via the "I Choose my PC" program. In June 2009 Bachelet introduced pay equality legislation
Equal pay for women
Equal pay for women is an issue regarding pay inequality between men and women. It is often introduced into domestic politics in many first world countries as an economic problem that needs governmental intervention via regulation...
, guaranteeing equal pay for equal work in the private sector, regardless of gender. Two months later she signed the education reform bill into law, which created two new regulatory bodies: a Superintendency on Education and a Quality Agency. In September 2009 Bachelet signed the "Chile Grows with You" plan into law, providing comprehensive social services to vulnerable children from ages zero to six. That law also established a social welfare management framework called the "Intersectoral Social Protection System", made up of subsystems, such as "Chile Solidario" and "Chile Grows with You". That same month she announced Chile would adopt the Japanese standard ISDB-T with MPEG-4
MPEG-4
MPEG-4 is a method of defining compression of audio and visual digital data. It was introduced in late 1998 and designated a standard for a group of audio and video coding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group under the formal standard ISO/IEC...
for digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
, joining Argentina and Peru.
In December 2009 Bachelet announced the construction of a new subway line in Santiago, to be operational in 2014. In January 2010 she inaugurated new subway stations in Santiago, originally announced by the Lagos Administration in November 2005. Also in January she opened the Museum of Memory in Santiago, documenting the horrors of Pinochet's 16-and-a-half year dictatorship. On 18 January 2010, Bachelet promulgated a law allowing the distribution of emergency contraception pills
Emergency contraception
Emergency contraception , or emergency postcoital contraception, refers to birth control measures that, if taken after sexual intercourse, may prevent pregnancy.Forms of EC include:...
in public and private health centers, including to persons under 14, without parental consent. The law also requires high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s to add a sexual education program to their curriculum. That same month she enacted a law creating the Ministry for the Environment. The new legislation also created the Environmental Evaluation Service and the Superintendency for the Environment.
On 27 February 2010, on the last week of summer vacation
Summer vacation
Summer vacation is a vacation in the summertime between school years in which students and instructors are off school typically between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on the country and district.-Students:In some countries, students participate in programs such as organized sports, summer camps, and...
s and less than two weeks before Bachelet's term expired, Chile was ravaged by an 8.8-magnitude earthquake
2010 Chile earthquake
The 2010 Chile earthquake occurred off the coast of central Chile on Saturday, 27 February 2010, at 03:34 local time , having a magnitude of 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale, with intense shaking lasting for about three minutes. It ranks as the sixth largest earthquake ever to be recorded by a...
that killed more than 500 people, toppled apartment buildings and bridges and triggered tsunamis that wiped away entire fishing villages. Bachelet and the government were criticized for the slow response to the disaster, which hit on a Saturday at 3:34 in the morning and left most of the country without electricity, phone or Internet access. Bachelet declared a "state of catastrophe
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
" and on Sunday afternoon sent military troops to the most affected areas in an effort to quell scenes of looting and arson. She also imposed night curfew
Curfew
A curfew is an order specifying a time after which certain regulations apply. Examples:# An order by a government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time...
s in the most affected cities. She was criticized for not deploying the troops fast enough.
Bachelet began her term with an unprecedented absolute majority in both chambers of Congress—before appointed senators were eliminated in the 2005 constitutional reforms the CPD never had a majority in the Senate—but she was soon faced with internal opposition coming from a number of dissatisfied lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, the so-called díscolos ("disobedient," "ungovernable"), which jeopardized the coalition's narrow—and historic—Congress majority on a number of key executive-sponsored bills during much of her first half in office, and forced her to negotiate with a right-wing opposition she saw as being obstructionist. During the course of 2007 the CPD lost its absolute majority in both chambers of Congress, as several senators and deputies from that coalition became independent.
Bachelet was widely credited for resisting calls from politicians from her own coalition to spend the huge copper revenues to close the country's income gap. Instead in 2007 she created the Economic and Social Stabilization Fund, a sovereign wealth fund
Sovereign wealth fund
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund composed of financial assets such as stocks, bonds, property, precious metals or other financial instruments. Sovereign wealth funds invest globally. Some of them have grabbed attention making bad investments in several Wall Street financial...
which accumulates fiscal surpluses which are above 1% of GDP. This strategy allowed her to finance new social policies and provide economic stimulus packages when the 2008 financial crisis hit the country, lowering the value of its exports by 30%. At the onset of the crisis in September 2008
Global financial crisis in September 2008
-Prelude:The subprime mortgage crisis reached a critical stage during the first week of September 2008, characterized by severely contracted liquidity in the global credit markets and insolvency threats to investment banks and other institutions....
Bachelet's popularity was at a low 42%. But when she left office in March 2010 her job approval rating was at a record 84%, according to conservative polling institute Adimark GfK. The Chilean Constitution
Constitution of Chile
In its temporary dispositions, the document ordered the transition from the former military government, with Augusto Pinochet as President of the Republic, and the Legislative Power of the Military Junta , to a civil one, with a time frame of eight...
does not allow a president to serve two consecutive terms and Bachelet endorsed CPD candidate Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who was President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He is currently Senator for Los Ríos and was President of the Senate from 2006 to 2008. He attempted a comeback as the candidate of the ruling Concertación...
for the December 2009 election. Bachelet has not ruled out a return to the presidency at the next elections in 2013.
Bachelet's administration sought to make social protection and the promotion of equality of opportunity her main priority. During her presidency, the welfare state was signficantly expanded and the number of Chileans living in poverty was reduced. Amongst other measures, the Bachelet Administration built 3,500 crèches daycare for poorer children, introduced a universal minimum state pension and extended free health care to cover many serious conditions.
A new housing policy aimed at abolishing the last remaining shanty-towns in Chile by 2010 featured grants to the poorest families. Some of them had to pay just US$400 for a house costing about US$20,000.
Foreign relations
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. In July 2006 she sent a letter of protest
Letter of Protest
A letter of protest or diplomatic note is a diplomatic document presented by one state's foreign ministry to another state.A letter of protest is written in a highly formal manner, intended to be both courteous and critical at the same time...
to Argentine president
President of Argentina
The President of the Argentine Nation , usually known as the President of Argentina, is the head of state of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the chief executive of the federal government and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.Through Argentine history, the...
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
after his government issued a decree increasing export tariffs of natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
to Chile, which was considered by Bachelet to be a violation of a tacit bilateral agreement. A month later a long-standing border dispute
Territorial dispute
A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states or over the possession or control of land by a new state and occupying power after it has conquered the land from a former state no longer currently recognized by the new state.-Context and...
resurfaced after Argentina published some tourist maps showing contested territory in the south—the Southern Patagonian Ice Field
Southern Patagonian Ice Field
The Southern Patagonian Ice Field , located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Argentina and Chile, is the second largest contiguous extrapolar extent of ice in the world...
(Campo de Hielo Patagónico Sur)—as Argentine, violating an agreement not to define a border over the area. In early 2007 Peru accused Chile of unilaterally redefining their shared sea boundary in a law, passed by Congress, which detailed the borders of the new administrative region of Arica and Parinacota. The impasse was resolved by the Chilean Constitutional Tribunal, which declared the particular section of the law unconstitutional. In March 2007, the Chilean state-owned—but editorially independent—television channel TVN
Televisión Nacional de Chile
TVN is Chile's state-owned television station. Its inaugural transmission took place on 1969. TVN is owned, but not funded, by the state, and it functions independently from it; a very particular case of public television in South America...
cancelled the broadcast of a documentary about the War of the Pacific
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
after a cautionary call was made to the stations' board of directors by Chilean Foreign Relations Minister Alejandro Foxley
Alejandro Foxley
Alejandro Tomás Foxley Rioseco is a Chilean economist and politician. He was the Foreign Minister of Chile from 2006 to 2009 and previously served as Minister of Finance from 1990 to 1994 and leader of the Christian Democrat Party from 1994 to 1996.-Education and personal life:Foxley received a...
, apparently acting on demands made by the Peruvian ambassador to Chile; the show was finally broadcast in late May of that year. In August 2007 the Chilean government filed a formal diplomatic protest to Peru and summoned home its ambassador, after Peru published an official map claiming a part of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
that Chile considers its sovereign territory. Peru said this was just another step in its plans to bring the dispute to the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. In January 2008 Peru asked the court to consider the dispute, prompting Bachelet to summon home the Chilean ambassador in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
for consultations.
Chile's October 16, 2006 vote in the United Nations Security Council election—with Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
deadlocked in a bid for the two-year, non-permanent Latin American and Caribbean seat on the Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
—developed into a major ideological issue in the country and was seen as a test for Bachelet. The governing coalition was divided between the Socialists, who supported a vote for Venezuela, and the Christian Democrats, who strongly opposed it. The day before the vote the president announced (through her spokesman) that Chile would abstain, citing as reason a lack of regional consensus over a single candidate, ending months of speculation. In March 2007 Chile's ambassador to Venezuela, Claudio Huepe
Claudio Huepe
Claudio Huepe García was a Chilean politician, engineer and economist, member of the Christian Democrat party, who occupied several government and political positions. During his career, he was the provincial governor of Arauco, a member of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies, a government minister,...
, revealed in an interview with teleSUR
TeleSUR
La Nueva Televisora del Sur is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela. TeleSUR was launched with the objective of providing information to promote the integration of Latin America....
that Bachelet personally told him that she initially wanted to vote for Venezuela, but then "there were a series of circumstances that forced me to abstain." The government quickly recalled Huepe and accepted his resignation.
In October 2007 Bachelet granted an amnesty to undocumented migrants
Illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
from other Latin American countries. The measure was expected to benefit around 15,000 Peruvians and 2,000 Bolivians. In December 2007 Bachelet signed in Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
a trilateral agreement with the presidents of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Bolivia to complete and improve a 4,700 km road to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, via Arica
Arica
Arica is a city in northern Chile. "Arica" may also refer to:Places* Arica and Parinacota Region, Chile* Arica Airport , Chile* Arica, Amazonas, town in Colombia* Rio Aricá-açu, tributary of the Cuiabá River south of Cuiabá, BrazilOther...
and Iquique
Iquique
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
in Chile and Santos in Brazil. In May 2008, following months of intense lobbying, Chile was elected as member of the United Nations Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
, obtaining the largest vote among Latin American countries.
In May 2008 Bachelet became the first President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) and in September she called for an urgent summit, after Bolivian President Evo Morales
Evo Morales
Juan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , is a Bolivian politician and activist, currently serving as the 80th President of Bolivia, a position that he has held since 2006. He is also the leader of both the Movement for Socialism party and the cocalero trade union...
warned of a possible coup attempt
2008 unrest in Bolivia
The 2008 unrest in Bolivia began with protests against President Evo Morales and calls for greater autonomy for the country's eastern departments. Demonstrators escalated the protests by seizing natural gas infrastructure and government buildings...
against him. The presidents of Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Brasil and Colombia, and the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
, met with Bachelet at the La Moneda Palace in Santiago, where they agreed to send two commissions to Bolivia: one to mediate between the executive and the opposition, and another to investigate the killings in Pando Department
Pando Department
Pando is a department of Bolivia, with an area of , adjoining the border with Brazil. Pando has a population 66,689 . Its capital is the city of Cobija....
. That same month Chile sent a letter of protest to Venezuela after Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
expelled the director of Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
's Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
division José Miguel Vivanco, a Chilean national.
In February 2009 Bachelet visited Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and met with Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
. There she urged the United States to put an end to the embargo. No Chilean head of state had visited the country in 37 years. The meeting with Castro backfired after the Cuban leader wrote, a day later, that the "fascist and vengeful Chilean oligarchy is the same which more than 100 years ago robbed Bolivia of its access to the Pacific and of copper-rich lands in a humiliating war."
In March 2009, Bachelet hosted in Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
, the "Progressive Leaders Summit", meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
and Presidents Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Vázquez
Tabaré Ramón Vázquez Rosas is a former President of Uruguay. A physician by training, he is a member of the leftist Frente Amplo coalition . Vázquez was elected president on October 31, 2004, took office on March 1, 2005, and relinquished the office on March 1, 2010...
of Uruguay, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as...
of Brazil and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
of Argentina. The reunion garnered some media interest because it took place six days before the highly-anticipated G-20 Summit
2009 G-20 London summit
The 2009 G-20 London Summit is the second meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It followed the first G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, which...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
In December 2009 Chile became the first country in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and second in Latin America after Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to receive an invitation to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
(OECD). Bachelet signed the accession agreement in January 2010, but it formally became a member in May 2010, after she had left office.
Continuing the coalition's free-trade strategy, in August 2006 Bachelet promulgated a free trade agreement with the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
(signed under the previous administration of Ricardo Lagos), the first Chinese free-trade agreement with a Latin American nation; similar deals with Japan and India were promulgated in August 2007. In October 2006, Bachelet promulgated a multilateral trade deal with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership
Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership , also known as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, is a multilateral free trade agreement that aims to further liberalise the economies of the Asia-Pacific region; specifically, Article 1.1.3 notes: “The Parties seek to support the wider...
(P4), also signed under Lagos' presidency. She also held free-trade talks with other countries, including Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Malaysia. Regionally, she signed bilateral free trade agreements with Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
Post-presidential career
In April 2010 Bachelet inaugurated her own think-tank, "Fundación Dialoga". Its headquarters are located in ProvidenciaProvidencia, Chile
Providencia is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Part of Greater Santiago, it is bordered by the communes of Santiago to the west, Recoleta to the northwest, Las Condes and Vitacura to the northeast, La Reina to the east, and Ñuñoa to the south.In 2006...
, a suburb of Santiago.
On 14 September 2010 Bachelet was appointed as head of the newly created body UN Women
UN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women and girls....
by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
. She took office on 19 September 2010.
Bachelet is a member of the Club of Madrid
Club of Madrid
The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
, the world’s largest forum of former heads of state and government.
Awards and media recognition
- Ranked 17th most powerful women in the worldForbes Magazine's List of The World's 100 Most Powerful WomenStarting in 2004, Forbes magazine has made a list of the 100 most powerful women in the world. It is edited by editor Mary Ellen Egan, and based on visibility and economic impact...
by ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine in 2006 (she was #22 in 2009, #25 in 2008, and #27 in 2007.) - Defense of Freedom and Democracy Award by Ramón Rubial Foundation (January 2007).
- Ranked world's 15th most influential person by TIMETime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine in 2008. - Shalom Award by the World Jewish CongressWorld Jewish CongressThe World Jewish Congress was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations...
(June 2008). - Maximum Leadership Award (Argentina, October 2008).
- Global Trailblazer Award by Vital VoicesVital VoicesVital Voices Global Partnership is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization that works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women's political participation, and human rights. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C..-History:The nonprofit Vital...
(October 2008). - South American Football Honorary Order of Merit in the Extraordinary Great Collar degree by CONMEBOLCONMEBOLThe South American Football Confederation , commonly known as CONMEBOL , is the continental governing body of association football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations...
in July 2009. She is the first woman to receive such recognition. - Woman of the Bicentenary at the 2010 Energy of Woman Awards by Chilectra (April 2010).
- Federation of Progressive Women's International Prize (Spain, November 2010).
- Keys to the City of Miami (November 2010).
- The Association of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce in Florida's 2010 Award for Leadership in Global Trade (November 2010).
- Washington Office on Latin AmericaWashington Office on Latin AmericaThe Washington Office on Latin America is an American non-governmental organization whose stated goal is to promote human rights, democracy and social and economic justice in Latin America and the Caribbean....
's Human Rights Award (November 2010). - Women’s eNews’ Newsmaker of the Decade Award (May 2011).
Honorary degrees
- University of BrasiliaUniversity of BrasíliaThe University of Brasília , is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian public universities funded by the Brazilian federal government...
(April 2006). - Universidad de San Carlos de GuatemalaUniversidad de San Carlos de GuatemalaThe Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala It is the biggest and oldest university of Guatemala, also it is the fourth founded in the Americas....
(May 2007). - Pompeu Fabra UniversityPompeu Fabra UniversityPompeu Fabra University is a university in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is widely considered to be one of the best universities in Spain and in Europe, and was ranked 1st in scientific productivity in Spain in 2009. Founded in 1990, it is named after the Catalan philologist Pompeu Fabra...
(May 2010). - National University of CórdobaNational University of CórdobaThe National University of Córdoba, , is the oldest university in Argentina, and one of the oldest in the Americas. It is located in Córdoba, the capital of Córdoba Province. Since the early 20th century it has been the second largest university in the country in terms of the number of students,...
(June 2010). - Catholic University of Córdoba (June 2010).
- Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (September 2010).
- Universidad Autónoma de Santo DomingoUniversidad Autónoma de Santo DomingoThe Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo is the public university system in the Dominican Republic with its main campus in Santo Domingo and regional centers across the Republic...
(November 2010). - University of Paris III: Sorbonne NouvelleUniversity of Paris III: Sorbonne NouvelleThe New Sorbonne University is a public university in Paris, France.The Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle is a founding member of the Paris Universitas, a union of 6 Parisian universities....
(November 2010). - University of EssexUniversity of EssexThe University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
(April 2008) .
Documentaries
- Michelle Bachelet - Symbol des neuen Chile (Ebbo Demant / SWRSüdwestrundfunkThe Südwestrundfunk is a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany, specifically the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The company has main offices in three cities: Stuttgart, Baden-Baden and Mainz, with the director's office being in Stuttgart. It is an...
, 2004) - La hija del General ["The General's Daughter"] (María Elena Wood / 2006)
External links
Presidencia de la República official site (English version) Official presidential campaign site Biography by CIDOB Foundation- PBS Newshour - Interview transcript with video
- "The woman taking Chile's top job" (BBC News)
- "The unexpected travails of the woman who would be president" (The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
- December 8, 2005) - "Bachelet's citizens' democracy" (The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
- March 10, 2006) - "With a New Leader, Chile Seems to Shuck Its Strait Laces" (The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- March 8, 2006) - "Welcome Madam Chilean President to Washington" —Council on Hemispheric Affairs
- Feature on Michelle Bachelet, with video, by the International Museum of WomenInternational Museum of WomenThe International Museum of Women, , headquartered in San Francisco, California, is an online museum that covers women's issues world-wide.- Creation and expansion :I.M.O.W. was founded as the Women's Heritage Museum in 1985...
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