Michelle Bachelet

President of Chile

Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Chilean politician who has been President of Chile since 11 March 2014. She was previously president from 2006 to 2010, becoming the first woman in her country to do so. After leaving the presidency and while not immediately re-electable, she was appointed the first executive director of the newly created United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women). In December 2013, Bachelet was re-elected president with over 62% of the vote, bettering the 53.5% she obtained in 2006. She is the first person since 1932 to win the presidency of Chile twice in competitive elections.

Bachelet, a physician with studies in military strategy, was Health Minister and Defense Minister under her predecessor, Ricardo Lagos. She is a separated mother of three and describes herself as an agnostic. Aside from her native Spanish, she also speaks, with varying levels of fluency, English, German, Portuguese and French. She is a member of the Socialist Party of Chile.