Mario Fernández Baeza

Mario Fernández Baeza
Interior Minister
Assumed office
8 June 2016
President Michelle Bachelet
Defense Minister
In office
11 March 2000 – 7 January 2002
President Ricardo Lagos
Personal details
Religion Roman Catholic (Opus Dei)

Mario Adolfo del Carmen Fernández Baeza (born in Rancagua, 22 November 1947) is a Chilean lawyer, professor and politician, member of the Christian Democratic Party. Currently, he is Minister of the Interior and Public Security of the Michelle Bachelet's second term.

Previously he served as Minister of State of the president Ricardo Lagos, minister of the Chilean Constitutional Court (2006-2011), and ambassador of Chile to Germany, Austria, and Uruguay.

Studies and academic career

He studied in the Public School Nª 3 and the Liceo de Hombres, both in his native town.[1] He was secretary and vice-president of the Students Centre of his school, and its delegate in two National Congresses of Secondary Students. He also was member of the Youth of Catholic Students.

Later he studied in the Universidad de Chile Law School in Valparaíso, between 1967 and 1969, when he moved to the Law School in Santiago. He got a grade in Juridical and Social Sciences in 1975. Afterwards he made a Doctorate in political science, history, international right public and philosophy in the University of Heidelberg, Germany.[2][3]

He has been Law professor in the Diego Portales University, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and University of Chile, among others.[3]

Political and public career

He joined the Christian Democrat Party in 1966. He served as undersecretary of Aviation and War during the governments of the presidents Patricio Aylwin and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1990-1993, 1994-1995 and 1996-1999).[2][3][3][4][5]

Fernández in the ceremony of assumption of the charge of minister of Interior, in 2016.

In 2000 he was appointed by president Ricardo Lagos as minister of National Defence, until 2002, when a cabinet reshuffle assigned the Ministry to Michelle Bachelet, and Fernández was named Minister General Secretariat of the Presidency (2002-2003).[6] Later he was designated ambassador to Germany.[7][8]

On 13 December 2005, the Senate appointed him minister of the Constitutional Court of Chile, starting on 1 January 2006.[9][10] He resigned on 31 March 2011, to join the consulting firm Latinus and restart his teaching classes in different universities.[11][12]

In 2014 he assumed, in the second term of Michelle Bachelet, as ambassador to Germany, being reassigned in mid-2015 to Uruguay. On 8 June 2016, president Bachelet appointed him as minister of the Interior and Public Security, in replacement of the renounced Jorge Burgos.[13]

Beliefs

Fernández is an Opus Dei member.[14]

Works

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.