Michelle Bachelet

Michelle Bachelet
Born	Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria 29 9, 1951
Birthplace	Santiago, Chile
Nationality	Chilean
Occupation	Politician, physician
Known for	First woman to serve as President of Chile; United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; first Executive Director of UN Women
Education	University of Chile (MD)
Children	3

Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician and physician who served as the 33rd and 35th President of Chile, holding office from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018. She is the first and, to date, only woman to have held the Chilean presidency. A pediatrician and epidemiologist by training, with additional studies in military strategy, Bachelet rose through Chile's political ranks after serving as Minister of Health and then Minister of National Defense under President Ricardo Lagos — the first woman in Latin America to hold the latter post. Her path to the presidency was shaped by personal experience under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, during which her father, an Air Force brigadier general, was arrested and died in custody, and she herself was detained and tortured before going into exile. After her first presidential term, she was appointed as the inaugural Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) in 2010. She won a second presidential term in December 2013, receiving over 62 percent of the vote, becoming the first Chilean president to be re-elected since 1932. Following her second presidency, Bachelet served as the 7th United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. In early 2026, Chilean President Gabriel Boric officially submitted her nomination as a candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, with regional backing from major Latin American nations including Mexico and Brazil.

Early Life

Michelle Bachelet was born on 29 September 1951 in Santiago, Chile. Her father, Alberto Bachelet, was a brigadier general in the Chilean Air Force. Her mother, Ángela Jeria, was an archaeologist. The Bachelet family has roots in the Burgundy region of France; her paternal ancestors emigrated to Chile, while her maternal family, the Jeria line, includes both Chilean and British heritage.

Bachelet's early years were marked by the political upheavals that engulfed Chile in the early 1970s. Her father, a loyalist to the constitutionally elected government of President Salvador Allende, served in a role coordinating food distribution during the economic crises preceding the 1973 military coup. Following the coup d'état led by General Augusto Pinochet on 11 September 1973, Alberto Bachelet was arrested by the military junta on charges of treason for his loyalty to the Allende government. He was detained and subjected to torture at the Air Force War Academy and later at the Santiago Public Prison. Alberto Bachelet suffered a cardiac arrest while in detention and died on 12 March 1974.

In January 1975, Michelle Bachelet and her mother, Ángela Jeria, were themselves arrested by agents of the Directorate of National Intelligence (DINA), the Pinochet regime's secret police. They were taken to the Villa Grimaldi detention center, one of the most notorious torture sites operated by the dictatorship. Both were subjected to interrogation and torture during their detention. Bachelet later confirmed publicly that Miguel Krassnoff, a DINA agent who was subsequently convicted of numerous human rights violations, had participated in her detention.

The intervention of Roberto Kozak, an Argentine-born diplomat working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration, helped secure the release of Bachelet and her mother. Kozak, who has been described as a "Latin American Schindler" for his efforts to assist political prisoners during the Pinochet era, facilitated their departure from Chile. Following their release, Bachelet went into exile, first living in Australia and then relocating to East Germany, where she continued her studies and lived for several years before returning to Chile in 1979.

Education

Bachelet enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile, where she studied medicine. Her studies were interrupted by the 1973 coup and her subsequent detention and exile. After returning to Chile from East Germany in 1979, she resumed her medical studies at the University of Chile and graduated with a degree in medicine, specializing in pediatrics and public health. She is registered as a medical practitioner in Chile's national health registry.

During her time in East Germany, Bachelet learned German and continued academic work. Her linguistic abilities later proved significant in her political and diplomatic career; in addition to her native Spanish, she is fluent in English and has proficiency in German, French, and Portuguese.

Later in her career, Bachelet pursued studies in military strategy, a field uncommon for civilian politicians and particularly unusual for women in Chile at the time. She attended courses at Chile's National Academy of Strategy and Policy and completed additional military studies at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington, D.C. These qualifications would prove instrumental in her appointment as Minister of National Defense.

Career

Early Political Career and Ministerial Roles

Bachelet joined the Socialist Party of Chile in 1970, during the period of Salvador Allende's presidency. After returning from exile and completing her medical degree, she became active in party politics and public health policy throughout the 1980s and 1990s, during Chile's gradual transition back to democracy.

Her entry into national government came on 11 March 2000, when President Ricardo Lagos appointed her as Minister of Health. In this role, she undertook reforms to reduce waiting times in the public healthcare system and worked to address inequalities in health service delivery. She served in this capacity until 7 January 2002.

On 7 January 2002, Lagos appointed Bachelet as Minister of National Defense, succeeding Mario Fernández Baeza. The appointment was historically significant: Bachelet became the first woman in Chile—and the first in any major Latin American country—to hold the defense portfolio. Her appointment carried particular symbolic weight given that her father had been killed by the same military establishment she was now overseeing. In this role, she managed civil-military relations during a sensitive period in Chile's history, as the country continued to grapple with the legacy of the Pinochet dictatorship. She served as Defense Minister until 1 October 2004, when she stepped down to prepare her presidential candidacy.

First Presidency (2006–2010)

Bachelet ran as the candidate of the Concertación, the center-left coalition that had governed Chile since the end of the Pinochet dictatorship. She won the first round of the presidential election on 11 December 2005 and then secured victory in the second round on 15 January 2006, receiving approximately 54 percent of the vote against Sebastián Piñera of the National Renewal party. She was inaugurated on 11 March 2006, succeeding Ricardo Lagos and becoming the first woman to serve as President of Chile.

During her first term, Bachelet pursued a social agenda focused on expanding protections for vulnerable populations. She implemented pension reform that established a basic solidarity pension for Chileans who had not contributed to the private pension system, extending coverage to hundreds of thousands of the country's poorest citizens. Her government also expanded access to childcare and early education, establishing a network of publicly funded nurseries and pre-kindergarten programs. These policies were framed as both social welfare measures and economic development strategies aimed at increasing women's participation in the workforce.

Bachelet's first term was also marked by her response to the 2010 earthquake and tsunami that struck Chile on 27 February 2010, in the final weeks of her presidency. The 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the most powerful ever recorded, caused widespread destruction and hundreds of deaths. The government's initial response was criticized in some quarters, though reconstruction efforts were initiated before the end of her term.

Bachelet's approval ratings fluctuated during her first term but had recovered significantly by the time she left office. Under the Chilean constitution, she was not eligible for immediate re-election and was succeeded by Sebastián Piñera on 11 March 2010.

Executive Director of UN Women (2010–2013)

Following her presidency, Bachelet was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as the first Executive Director of the newly created United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, commonly known as UN Women. The entity, established by the UN General Assembly in July 2010, consolidated four previously separate UN bodies dealing with gender issues. Bachelet assumed the role on 14 September 2010.

As Executive Director, Bachelet oversaw the organization's establishment and set its initial strategic priorities, focusing on women's political participation, economic empowerment, and the elimination of violence against women. She used the platform to advocate for gender-responsive budgeting and for the inclusion of gender equality in the post-2015 development agenda that would eventually become the Sustainable Development Goals.

Bachelet resigned from UN Women on 15 March 2013, with Lakshmi Puri serving as acting executive director after her departure. Her resignation was widely understood as a prelude to her return to Chilean politics and a second presidential candidacy.

Second Presidency (2014–2018)

Bachelet returned to Chile and announced her candidacy for president under the banner of Nueva Mayoría (New Majority), a broader coalition that expanded upon the Concertación by including the Communist Party of Chile. She won the presidential election on 15 December 2013 with over 62 percent of the vote in the second round, defeating Evelyn Matthei of the Independent Democratic Union. This made her the first Chilean president to be re-elected since Arturo Alessandri in 1932.

Bachelet's second term was characterized by an ambitious reform agenda. She pursued three major structural reforms: a tax reform to increase government revenue and reduce inequality, an education reform aimed at ending profit-making in publicly funded education and gradually implementing free university education, and a new constitution to replace the one enacted during the Pinochet era in 1980.

The tax reform, enacted in 2014, raised corporate taxes and closed loopholes, generating additional revenue estimated to fund expanded public services. The education reform proved more contentious, as it sought to prohibit for-profit entities from receiving public education funds and to eliminate selection practices in publicly subsidized schools. While the reforms were enacted into law, their implementation faced resistance from private education providers and segments of the political opposition.

On the constitutional front, Bachelet initiated a participatory process of citizen consultations in 2016, in which hundreds of thousands of Chileans participated in local, regional, and national meetings to discuss the principles and rights they wished to see in a new constitution. She submitted a draft constitutional proposal to Congress in the final days of her presidency in March 2018, though it was not acted upon by her successor, Sebastián Piñera.

During her second term, Bachelet also oversaw significant social reforms, including the legalization of abortion in three specific circumstances — when the mother's life is at risk, when the fetus is not viable, and in cases of rape — ending Chile's total ban on the procedure. She also enacted a civil union law recognizing same-sex partnerships.

In foreign affairs, Bachelet served as President pro tempore of the Pacific Alliance from July 2016 to June 2017. She had earlier served as the first President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) from May 2008 to August 2009 during her first presidential term.

Bachelet's second term ended on 11 March 2018, and she was again succeeded by Sebastián Piñera.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2018–2022)

On 1 September 2018, Bachelet assumed the office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, appointed by Secretary-General António Guterres. She succeeded Zeid Raad Al Hussein of Jordan as the 7th person to hold the post.

During her tenure, Bachelet addressed human rights situations in numerous countries and regions, including Venezuela, Myanmar, China's Xinjiang region, the Philippines, Yemen, and others. She faced scrutiny from both governments accused of violations and from human rights organizations that sometimes called for stronger action. Her office issued reports and statements on a wide range of issues, from the rights of indigenous peoples to the impact of digital technologies on human rights.

Her term concluded on 31 August 2022, and she was succeeded by Volker Türk of Austria. Throughout her tenure she maintained a focus on the intersection of human rights with climate change and economic inequality.

Candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General (2026)

In February 2026, Chilean President Gabriel Boric officially submitted Bachelet's nomination as a candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary-General. Her candidacy received broad regional support; Latin America's largest countries, Mexico and Brazil, backed her bid, making her a candidate with significant multinational endorsement. Boric publicly stated his support for Bachelet's bid to become the first woman to head the United Nations. If selected, she would be the first woman and the first Latin American to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Personal Life

Michelle Bachelet is a separated mother of three children. She identifies as agnostic. In addition to her native Spanish, she speaks fluent English and has proficiency in German, French, and Portuguese — languages she acquired during her years of exile in Australia and East Germany, as well as through her subsequent international career.

Bachelet's personal history is deeply intertwined with Chile's political history. The death of her father under the military dictatorship and her own experience of detention and torture have been central to public understanding of her political identity. She has spoken publicly about these experiences on multiple occasions, including confirming details about the agents involved in her detention.

In October 2025, Bachelet met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a visit that underscored her continued international diplomatic engagement even after her formal departure from the United Nations.

Recognition

Bachelet's career has been the subject of extensive international media attention and recognition. She was featured in TIME magazine's TIME100 Talks, participating in a conversation alongside other global leaders. She has also been included among leaders featured at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where she discussed global collaboration and the future of international institutions.

Her election as Chile's first female president in 2006 generated significant international coverage, particularly regarding women's political representation in Latin America. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and other international media highlighted her victory as a milestone for women's political participation in the region.

As the inaugural Executive Director of UN Women, Bachelet was recognized for establishing the institutional foundations of the organization and setting its strategic direction during a formative period. Her address to students in Australia in 2012 highlighted the contributions of women in public life and was part of her broader advocacy for gender equality on the international stage.

Her appointment as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights further solidified her profile as a figure in international human rights and governance. The breadth of her career — spanning the Chilean cabinet, the presidency, and multiple senior United Nations positions — has made her one of the most prominent Latin American political figures of the early 21st century.

Legacy

Bachelet's legacy encompasses her roles in Chilean domestic politics and in international institutions. In Chile, she is the first and only woman to have served as president, and her two terms marked a period of significant social policy expansion, including pension reform, education reform, and the partial legalization of abortion. Her effort to initiate a constitutional replacement process, while not completed during her tenure, laid the groundwork for the broader constitutional debate that culminated in Chile's 2020 referendum approving the drafting of a new constitution.

Her personal biography — marked by the dictatorship's violence against her family, her own detention and exile, and her subsequent rise to the highest political office in the country — became a central narrative in Chile's post-dictatorship reconciliation. Her appointment as Minister of Defense, overseeing the armed forces that had killed her father, was widely noted as a symbol of democratic transition and civilian control of the military.

Internationally, Bachelet's appointment as the first Executive Director of UN Women placed her at the center of global efforts to institutionalize gender equality within the United Nations system. Her subsequent role as High Commissioner for Human Rights extended her international profile and engagement with a wide range of human rights issues.

Her 2026 candidacy for United Nations Secretary-General, backed by Chile, Mexico, and Brazil, represents a potential further expansion of her role on the global stage. If successful, she would be the first woman and the first person from Latin America to serve as Secretary-General of the United Nations.