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Sebastián Piñera Echenique

Sebastián Piñera Echenique was born in Santiago, Chile, on December 1, 1949. He is the son of José Piñera Carvallo and Magdalena Echenique Rozas, and was the third of six children. He emphasizes that his upbringing was Christian, pluralistic, characterized by great freedom, a strong sense of duty, and a deep commitment to public service. In 1973, he married Cecilia Morel Montes, a family and youth counselor at the Carlos Casanueva Institute and a graduate in Family and Human Relations from Universidad Mayor. Together they have four children: Magdalena, a history and geography teacher; Cecilia, a pediatrician; Sebastián, a business engineer; and Cristóbal, a psychologist. By the time of his second presidency, they had eight grandchildren with another on the way.

In 1950, Piñera moved with his family to the United States, where his father had been appointed as a representative in the first overseas office of the Chilean Economic Development Agency. Upon his return to Chile, he enrolled in the Verbo Divino school, run by German priests, where he completed his elementary studies and part of high school from 1955 to 1964. There he distinguished himself as one of the best students and actively participated in the Scout movement. After President Eduardo Frei Montalva won the 1964 election, his father was appointed Ambassador to Belgium, and the family moved to Europe. During this period, Piñera completed his secondary studies at Saint Boniface School in Brussels, immersing himself in the spirit of the great university movements that were sweeping across Europe at the time. In 1967, when his father assumed the position of Chilean Ambassador to the United Nations, he returned to Chile to complete his senior year at Verbo Divino School.

In 1968, Piñera entered the Faculty of Economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, understanding from the outset that this field of study held great potential for improving the quality of life of the most disadvantaged. In 1971, he graduated with a degree in Business Engineering, receiving the Raúl Iver Award for the best student in his graduating class. He holds a degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. In 1973, he traveled to the United States to obtain a Master's and a Doctorate in Economics from Harvard University, connecting with prominent economists, several of whom were Nobel laureates. As a teaching assistant, he came to appreciate the value of freedom, democracy, and the opportunities offered by a country like the United States. His doctoral thesis was entitled "The Economics of Education in Developing Countries: A Collection of Essays."

In 1976, upon returning to Chile, Piñera dedicated himself primarily to teaching, giving classes at the Economics Faculties of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, the University of Chile, Adolfo Ibáñez University, and the Valparaíso Business School. Concurrently, he was a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank from 1974 to 1976, a consultant for the World Bank from 1975 to 1978, and worked at the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. At this last institution, he actively participated in a major project entitled "Map of Poverty in Latin America and Policies to Overcome It" in 1976.

Also in 1976, Piñera obtained representation rights in Chile for Visa and MasterCard and created Bancard S.A., granting Chileans access to this new payment and credit system. Continuing along these same lines, he participated in the creation of CMB S.A., Las Américas Real Estate Company S.A., Aconcagua Constructing Company, and Los Andes Publishing House S.A. At the same time, he was the official representative in Chile of Apple, and a few years later he became a major shareholder in companies such as Lan Chile, Chilevisión, and Blanco y Negro, among others.

For the plebiscite of October 5, 1988, Piñera participated actively in bringing back democracy, voting NO to continue with the military regime, joining many other Chileans in paving the way for free elections and democracy. In 1989, together with his wife Cecilia Morel, he founded the Mujer Emprende Foundation, whose objective is to promote the training and development of young women from low-income backgrounds. The foundation continues to operate and receive their support. In 1993, they also created the Futuro Foundation with the objective of bringing education and culture closer to all Chileans. The Futuro Foundation has also developed environmental initiatives and continues to pursue these goals. In 2005, Tantauco Park was inaugurated in the south of Chiloé Island. Spanning 140,000 hectares and including 220 kilometers of trails and campsites, the park offers visitors opportunities for trekking, fishing, birdwatching, and blue whale watching. The park conserves and protects endangered ecosystems and species, conducts research, and promotes sustainable ecotourism programs.

Additionally, Piñera served for many years as an advisor to the Hogar de Cristo charity and participated in numerous pro bono commissions. Among these, he was a member of the Advisory Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bicentennial Commission, created by former President Ricardo Lagos. In 2010, he founded the Avanza Chile Foundation, whose objective is to promote freedom, justice, and progress, as well as to create better public policies.

In 1989, Piñera ran for senator as an independent candidate backed by the Democracy and Progress Pact in the 8th District of the Metropolitan Region East, and was elected for the 1990 to 1998 legislative term. He then joined the National Renewal party. During his time as senator, he served on the standing committees for Finance, Health and Environment, Economy, Human Rights, and National Assets. His concern for the environment was reflected in his introduction of the Bill on Environmental and Nature Protection. His democratic spirit was demonstrated through another bill he introduced to modify the Organic Constitutional Laws governing political parties, popular votes and tallying, and municipalities. This allowed independent candidates to run head to head with party member candidates in presidential, congressional, and municipal elections. He also presented a bill that simplified the process needed to create a political party. Another area in which he participated involved a bill regulating the legal and ethical principles of human and assisted reproductive technologies, establishing penalties for whoever violates these regulations. During his term, he was voted by his peers as the best senator, along with then-Senator Andrés Zaldívar.

Piñera served as President of the National Renewal party between 2001 and 2004. At the National Renewal Party's National Council meeting in May 2005, he was proclaimed the party's presidential candidate for the January 2006 presidential elections. During the presidential elections of December 2005, Sebastián Piñera obtained 25.4 percent of the votes, while Michelle Bachelet received 45.9 percent. Both candidates faced off in a second round of elections in January 2006, where Michelle Bachelet won with 53.5 percent of the total ballots while Sebastián Piñera obtained 46.5 percent. Following this defeat, he focused his efforts on three main activities: traveling throughout Chile listening to the needs and demands of the people, supporting the candidates of the Alliance for Chile in the 2008 Municipal Elections, and creating the "Tantauco Groups," made up of more than 1,200 professionals organized into 37 working committees dedicated to studying and proposing public policies for the future government.

In May 2009, the Coalition for Change was founded. This new political alliance brought together the National Renewal and Independent Democratic Union parties, which were part of the Alliance for Chile, as well as newer parties such as Chile Primero, Christian Humanism, Norte Grande, and independents. This new coalition nominated Sebastián Piñera as its official presidential candidate. The calling card of that presidential campaign was direct contact with the men and women of Chile, who were united under two slogans: "Change, Future and Hope" and "Be Part of the Change." Even though there was no law in place forcing him to do so, when he was still a presidential candidate, Sebastián Piñera handed over the administration of his participation in public corporations to four investment fund administrators, creating a Voluntary Blind Trust.

Sebastián Piñera obtained 44 percent of the votes in the presidential elections held on December 13, 2009, moving on to a second round along with the candidate representing the Concert of Parties for Democracy, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. When the ballots were tallied on January 17, 2010, Sebastián Piñera obtained 51.6 percent of the votes, making him the new President elect. On March 11, 2010, at the National Congress building, Sebastián Piñera was sworn in as the 47th President of the Republic of Chile.

During his first months as President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera led a government characterized by a strong emphasis on excellence, a sense of urgency, a commitment to meeting goals and obtaining concrete results, and continuous accountability. On taking office, he had to deal with the emergency caused by the earthquake and tsunami of February 27, 2010, while at the same time moving forward with his government program. The natural disaster cost the lives of over 500 Chileans and caused the greatest level of property damage ever seen in Chile. Faced by this devastation, the government implemented a four-year reconstruction plan.

The government's objective during this first term was to create a society where all Chileans have opportunities to achieve personal fulfillment, with the necessary security to take the risks inherent in entrepreneurship, innovation, and hard work, and where values such as respect for life, freedom, personal responsibility, family, diversity, and environmental stewardship are upheld. The country regained its capacity for growth, achieving an average growth rate of 5.3 percent during this period, and for job creation, resulting in over one million new jobs. Among the key achievements during President Piñera's first year in government were a recovery in Chile's economic growth with a 5.2 percent projection for 2010, the creation of 385,000 new jobs, and a fall in the rate of unemployment. Measures to promote women's employment stood out, such as the six-month maternity leave and the subsidy for female employment, which led to the creation of more than 576,000 jobs during the administration.

In healthcare, 27 hospitals were opened, the number of diseases covered by the AUGE program increased from 56 to 80, the 7 percent pension contribution was eliminated, the "Choose to Live Healthy" program was developed, and the Pharmaceutical Law was passed. Waiting lists for the health conditions included in Plan AUGE fell by 62 percent, and a special March Bonus was provided to 3.8 million people in 2010.

In education, the government took decisive steps toward building a society of opportunity. Other measures included the creation of 30 flagship schools, an increase in the Preferential School Subsidy, and the introduction of a Law on Educational Quality and Equity. School subsidies were increased, the Teacher Vocation Scholarship was created, 60 high-achieving high schools were opened, and the interest rate on State-Guaranteed Student Loans was reduced to 2 percent, in addition to tripling scholarships for higher education.

In terms of social development, the Ministry of Social Development was created, the Ethical Family Income was granted which benefits more than 218,000 families, and poverty rates were reduced by half. During the same period, the government undertook the reform of the Anti-terrorist Law and Military Justice, proposed legislation on the death of women in situations of domestic violence, proposed a constitutional reform for recognizing indigenous peoples, and took steps to extend and improve democracy. Regarding citizen security, the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security was created, and legislation was passed to recruit 10,000 new uniformed police officers and 1,000 new detectives for the investigative police. The Carabineros force was increased by more than 8,000 officers. These measures reduced the victimization rate from 33.6 percent to 24.8 percent, meaning that approximately 1.4 million Chileans were no longer victims of crime. There was a decrease in the number of crimes in people's homes, and the fear of crime fell to its lowest level in a decade.

After completing his first term at La Moneda Palace, Piñera dedicated himself to resuming the pending tasks he had been unable to address as President. He resumed the presidency of the Futuro Foundation, and in 2015 he received the National Environmental Recognition Award from Recyclápolis, a prize organized by El Mercurio newspaper and the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He also served as director of the Avanza Chile Foundation, where he worked to foster open debate on major ideas and sound public policies. Through this work, he sought to expand the freedoms and opportunities of all Chileans to move toward a more democratic, just, prosperous, pluralistic, and fraternal society.

Following the elections on November 19, 2017, and after the second round on December 17, Sebastián Piñera was elected President of Chile for a second time, with 54.51 percent of the vote, a challenge he assumed on March 11, 2018.