Felipe José Kast Sommerhoff (born 9 June 1977) is a Chilean

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, researcher,

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

, and politician.

Early life and family

Kast is a nephew of far-right politician

José Antonio Kast José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chile, Chilean lawyer and politician. Kast ran for president of Chile, president in 2021, 2021 Chilean general election#President, winning the first round and ...

and son of the late economist Miguel Kast, who served as Minister of State and President of the Central Bank under the dictatorship of

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

. He is also the grandson of Michael Kast, a German officer who escaped American custody, obtained a false identity, and migrated to Chile in 1950, and great-great-great-grandson of German composers

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

and

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

Career

A graduate in economics from the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities i ...

with a PhD from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, Kast has been Minister of Planning, presidential candidate in the 2017 primary elections and deputy for the

commune of Santiago A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

between 2014 and 2018. He currently serves as

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...

after being elected to a six-year term in the 2017 parliamentary elections. As a right-wing independent, Kast actively participated in President

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

's first government, first as Minister of State and then as Presidential Delegate for emergency camps and villages occupied by 27 February 2010 Earthquake victims. Kast is a founder and former president of

Evópoli Political Evolution (), also known in Spanish by its shorthand Evópoli, is a Chilean centre-right political party, founded in 2012. The party defines itself as a liberal platform for the people who look for a "modern centre-right who proposes as ...

, a conservative-liberal and centre-right party. In what was described as a blow to Kast

Gloria Hutt Gloria de los Ángeles Hutt Hesse (born 31 January 1955) is a Chilean politician and journalist, militant from Political Evolution (Evópoli/EVOP), a conservative-liberal and centre-right party. In October 2022 Hutt was elected president of Pol ...

was elected president of the party in October 2022 rather than Kast's candidate

Luciano Cruz-Coke Luciano Cruz-Coke Carvallo (born July 1, 1970 in Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean actor, and was the Minister of Arts and Culture under the 35th President Sebastián Piñera. Biography Cruz-Coke is the son of lawyer and university professor Carl ...

Controversies

On November 11, 2022, a video allegedly showing him in a car with a transsexual escort was leaked on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, which caused great controversy.

References

External links

Chilean National Congress Library Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kast, Felipe 1977 births 21st-century Chilean economists Evópoli politicians Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Harvard University alumni Living people Chilean people of German descent Kast family People from Santiago Senators of the LV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile