Michelle Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2014 | |
| President of Chile | |
| In office 11 March 2014 – 11 March 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Sebastián Piñera |
| Succeeded by | Sebastián Piñera |
| In office 11 March 2006 – 11 March 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Ricardo Lagos |
| Succeeded by | Sebastián Piñera |
| 7th United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights | |
| In office 1 September 2018 – 31 August 2022 | |
| Deputy | Kate Gilmore |
| Secretary-General | António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Zeid Raad Al Hussein |
| Succeeded by | Volker Türk |
| President pro tempore of the Pacific Alliance | |
| In office 1 July 2016 – 30 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Ollanta Humala |
| Succeeded by | Juan Manuel Santos |
| Executive Director of UN Women | |
| In office 14 September 2010 – 15 March 2013 | |
| Deputy | Lakshmi Puri |
| Secretary General | Ban Ki-moon |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Lakshmi Puri (acting) |
| President pro tempore of UNASUR | |
| In office 23 May 2008 – 10 August 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Rafael Correa |
| Minister for National Defense | |
| In office 7 January 2002 – 1 October 2004 | |
| President | Ricardo Lagos |
| Preceded by | Mario Fernández Baeza |
| Succeeded by | Jaime Ravinet |
| Minister for Health | |
| In office 11 March 2000 – 7 January 2002 | |
| President | Ricardo Lagos |
| Preceded by | Álex Figueroa |
| Succeeded by | Osvaldo Artaza |
| Vice President of the Club de Madrid for the Global South and Latin America | |
| Assumed office 8 April 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Laura Chinchilla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria 29 September 1951 Santiago, Chile |
| Party | Socialist (since 1970) |
Other political affiliations | Concertación (1988–2013) Nueva Mayoría (2013–2018) |
| Spouse |
Jorge Dávalos Cartes
(m. 1978; sep. 1984) |
| Children | 3 |
| Parents |
|
| Education | University of Chile (MD) |
| Profession | Paediatrician / Public Health Physician |
| Signature |  |
| Website | michellebachelet |
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (Spanish: [beˈɾonika miˈtʃel βatʃeˈlet ˈxeɾja]; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean physician and politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Socialist Party, she was the first woman to be elected president of Chile and the first woman to serve as Chile's minister of health and minister of national defense.
Bachelet entered politics as a member of the Socialist Youth and was detained and tortured by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet before going into exile in Australia and East Germany. She returned to Chile in 1979, completed her medical studies, and subsequently worked in public health and government. She served as Minister of Health under President Ricardo Lagos from 2000 to 2002 and as Minister of National Defense from 2002 to 2004 before winning the 2005–06 presidential election. Her first presidency included pension and social-protection reforms, the expansion of public services, and the creation of new institutions in areas including the environment and human rights, while also facing major political difficulties including the initial implementation of the Transantiago public-transport system and the aftermath of the 2010 Chile earthquake.
After leaving the presidency, Bachelet served as the first executive director of UN Women from 2010 to 2013 and was again elected president in 2013, becoming Chile's first president to serve two non-consecutive terms. From 2018 to 2022, she served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, where her office issued reports on human rights situations in countries including China and Venezuela. Since 2024, she has served as vice president of the Club of Madrid. In 2025, she was nominated by Chile for Secretary-General of the United Nations for the 2026–2031 term; in March 2026, the government of newly inaugurated President José Antonio Kast withdrew Chile's support for her candidacy, while Mexico and Brazil continued to support it.