Ministry of Foreign Affairs
This ministry’s mission is to contribute to the formulation of Chile’s foreign policy. Its organizational structure drives and coordinates policy implementation by interacting with public and private stakeholders to safeguard the interests of Chile and Chileans around the world.
Roberto Ampuero
FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTERRoberto Ampuero holds a Degree in Latin American Literature from Universidad de La Habana (Cuba) and graduated from the Wilhelm Pieck School in the German Democratic Republic. He earned his Master’s Degree and PhD at the University of Iowa and completed graduate courses in Literature, Economics and Politics at Humboldt University in Berlin.
He was a fellow on the International Writing Program at University of Iowa and is currently Senior Fellow at research center Fundación para el Progreso (FPP), Visiting Professor at Universidad Finis Terrae, Director of thinktank Fundación Avanza Chile and a columnist for the publications El Mercurio and El Libero. He also has been a columnist for the New York Times Syndicate, El Mercurio de Valparaíso and La Tercera. He is a Civitella Ranieri Foundation (Italy) fellow and was the Director of the journal D+C Development and Cooperation, which is published by the German Foundation for International Development in Bonn, Germany.
During the first administration of President Sebastián Piñera, he was Ambassador to Mexico and then Minister President of the National Council of Culture and the Arts.
Mr. Ampuero is the author of over 15 novels, memoirs and books on political affairs. His publications feature the autobiographical texts Nuestros años verde olivo (Our Olive Green Years) and Detrás del muro (Behind the Wall); his novels Los amantes de Estocolmo (The Stockholm Lovers), Pasiones griegas (Greek Passions), La otra mujer (The Other Woman), El último tango de Salvador Allende (The Last Tango of Salvador Allende) and the saga of detective Cayetano Brulé. His books have been published in Latin America and Spain and translated into German, French, English, Italian, Chinese and other languages, with over 40 editions in Chile. He is also the co-author of Diálogos de Converso I y II (Convert Dialogues I and II) with writer and academic Mauricio Rojas.
He is married to Ana Lucrecia Rivera Schwarz and the couple has four children.
Alfonso Silva
FOREIGN AFFAIRS UNDERSECRETARYMr. Silva is a graduate of Universidad de Chile Law School and has done graduate work in International Studies at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities.
He has worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1976, including various consular and embassy placements.
During the first administration of President Sebastián Piñera, he was the Director General of Foreign Policy and was then named Foreign Affairs Undersecretary. Then, on November 23, 2016, he was appointed a co-agent in the Bolivian maritime lawsuit at the International Court of Justice of The Hague.
He is married and has five children.