[ARCHIVO] President Bachelet Appoints Mario Fernández as New Minister of the Interior

Just after noon today, at La Moneda Presidential Palace, President Michelle Bachelet appointed Mario Fernández Baeza to replace Jorge Burgos as the Minister of the Interior and Public Safety.

The newly appointed Minister of the Interior, who had been serving as Ambassador to Uruguay, holds a law degree from Universidad de Chile and a Doctorate in Political Science from Heidelberg University. He has served as a state minister, a judge for the Constitutional Court, an ambassador, and a professor of constitutional law at the Universidad de Chile.

During the ceremony, which was held in the Montt Varas Salon, the President stated that, “At this stage, as we said on May 21, our task is to implement reforms and translate them into concrete benefits for the people.”

She added that, “I have asked the new minister to focus on the political leadership of the cabinet and solid management of our public policies.”

The President noted that, “He will give the best of himself so that our government can continue to move towards the fulfillment of that which the public has asked of us. His experience will contribute to the unity of our coalition.”

She also offered some words regarding her now-former minister: “I would like to very sincerely thank former Minister Jorge Burgos Varela for his dedication and commitment, first as Minister of Defense. I know that he made an enormous sacrifice moving from the Ministry of Defense, which he loved, to the Ministry of the Interior and Public Safety. So thank you, Jorge, for that, but also thank you for your confidence, for the affectionate and caring relationship that we have developed which, just as you told me, will last beyond the institutional roles that we have held.”