Michelle Bachelet Jeria, President of Chile
The President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, was born on September 29, 1951. She is a trained pediatrician and public health specialist who also holds degrees in military science. A member of the Socialist Party and separated mother of three, Dr. Bachelet was the first woman in Chilean and Latin American history to hold the Health and Defense portfolios. On January 15, 2006 she became Chile's first-ever woman president.
Michelle Bachelet graduated from Santiago's Javiera Carrera Secondary School in 1969. A year later she enrolled at the University of Chile medical school and joined the Socialist Party.
Her father, Air Force General Alberto Bachelet, was arrested in the aftermath of the coup d'etat of September 1973 and died in prison in March 1974. In January 1975 both she and her mother, Ángela Jeria, were arrested and tortured. After their release they went into exile in Australia, then in Germany.
In 1979 Michelle Bachelet returned home. In 1982 she completed her medical training at the University of Chile. From 1983 through 1986 she completed a residency in Pediatric Medicine and Public Health. From 1986 through 1990 she headed the Medical Department of PIDEE, an NGO assisting the children of victims of the military regime.
In 1990 Michelle Bachelet joined the West Santiago Health Service and the National AIDS Commission, and was consultant on public health issues to several international organizations.
In March 1994 she became Senior Assistant to the Deputy Health Minister and a year later was named to the Socialist Party Central Committee. In 1996 she enrolled at Chile's National Academy for Strategic and Policy Studies. In 1997 she completed the Continental Defense Course at the Washington, D.C.-based Inter-American Defense College. From 1998 through 2000 she was Senior Assistant to the Defense Minister and became a member of the Socialist Party Executive Committee.
On March 11, 2000 President Ricardo Lagos appointed her as Health Minister. On January 7, 2002 she became the first woman in Chilean and Latin American history to hold the Defense portfolio.
On October 1, 2004, Dr. Bachelet stepped down as Defense Minister to stand as presidential candidate. Following a 438-day presidential campaign, she and her three contenders square off at the polls on December 12, 2005. She received a massive, but not yet decisive, 45.95% of the popular vote.
On January 15, 2006, a final election runoff vote was held, and Michelle Bachelet won with 53.5% percent of the vote. After 476 days on the stump, she became the first woman in Chilean history to hold the highest office in the land.
