Michelle Bachelet Becomes Chile’s First Woman President

On 11 March 2006, Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria was sworn into office at the National Congress in Valparaíso, becoming the first female president in Chilean history. A physician, former health minister, and former defense minister, Bachelet had run as the candidate of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy. Her path to the presidency reflected both personal resilience and the long shadow of national trauma: her father, Air Force Brigadier General Alberto Bachelet, had died in custody after suffering torture following the 1973 coup d'état, and she herself had experienced detention, interrogation, and exile before returning to complete her medical training in Santiago.

Bachelet's unexpected rise to national prominence gained momentum during the administration of President Ricardo Lagos. Appointed Minister of Health in 2000, she was charged with eliminating long queues at public primary care clinics within three months, a goal her ministry met only in part. In 2002, Lagos reassigned her to head the Ministry of National Defense, making her the first woman to hold that post in Chile and in Latin America. During her tenure, she focused on modernizing the armed forces, implementing international demining accords, and fostering reconciliation between military institutions and civil society, gaining broad public affection that propelled her into national leadership polls.