José Miguel Insulza Salinas (born June 2, 1943) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

an politician, lawyer, and academic serving as a senator for the

Arica y Parinacota Region The Arica y Parinacota Region ( es, link=no, Región de Arica y Parinacota ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Boliv ...

since 2018. He previously served as

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

from 1994 to 1999 and Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1999 to 2000 under president

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz–Tagle (; born 24 June 1942) is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who served as president of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He was also a Senator, fulfilling the role of President of the Senate from 2006 ...

, as

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 2000 to 2005 under president

Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...

, and as

Secretary General of the Organization of American States The Secretary General of the Organization of American States is the highest position within the Organization of American States. According to the Charter of the Organization of American States: Secretaries General of the OAS Assistant ...

from 2005 to 2015. Insulza is nicknamed ''El

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'' in Chile, for his tank-like drive and reputation due to his ability to take political heat with little apparent damage. He is married to Georgina Núñez Reyes (Mexican) and has three children. He is married to Georgina Núñez Reyes and has three children.

Early life and education

Insulza completed his primary and secondary education at St. George's College, an elite American English-language school in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

. He demonstrated an early interest in civil service while studying law at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, serving as president of the Law Students Center, vice president of the

University of Chile Student Federation The University of Chile Student Federation (''Federación de Estudiantes de la Universidad de Chile'' bbr. FECh is an organization that represents all the students enrolled in undergraduate and post-graduate courses at the University of Chile. T ...

(FECH), and President of the National Association of Student Unions (UFUCH). After graduating from law school, he obtained a graduate degree from the Latin American Social Sciences Faculty (FLACSO) and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He was professor of Political Theory at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

and of

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the Catholic University in Chile until 1973.

Career

Early beginnings

Insulza was a member of the

Popular Unitary Action Movement The Popular Unitary Action Movement or MAPU ( es, Movimiento de Acción Popular Unitario) was a small leftist political party in Chile. It was part of the Popular Unity coalition during the government of Salvador Allende. MAPU was repressed du ...

(MAPU) from 1969 to 1973. He ran for deputy for the Third District of Santiago, Puente Alto, in the 1973 parliamentary election but was unsuccessful. He served as Political Advisor to the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Chile in 1973.

Exile in Mexico

Following the

1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état Enciclopedia Virtual > Historia > Historia de Chile > Del gobierno militar a la democracia" on LaTercera.cl. Retrieved 22 September 2006. In October 1972, Chile suffered the first of many strikes. Among the par ...

, Insulza was prohibited from re-entering Chile (he had been at an international conference in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

at the time). He spent the next 15 years in exile, living first in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

from 1974 to 1981 and then in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

from 1981 to 1988. There, he worked as a researcher, eventually becoming the Director of the United States Studies Institute at the

Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas The Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas ("Center for Research and Teaching in Economics"; CIDE) is a Mexican center of research and higher education, specialized in the fields of social sciences, with an international-grade level of e ...

(CIDE). He also taught at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the

Universidad Iberoamericana The Ibero-American University ( es, Universidad Iberoamericana), also referred to by its acronym ''UIA'' but commonly known as ''Ibero'' or ''La Ibero'') is a private, Catholic, Mexican higher education institution, sponsored by the Mexican provi ...

, and the Diplomatic Studies Institute. He has written numerous publications in his field. He joined the Socialist Party of Chile in 1985.

Return to Chile

Insulza returned to Chile in early 1988 and joined the ''

Concertación The Concertación, officially the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia ( en, Coalition of Parties for Democracy), was a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988. Presidential candidates under its banner won ...

'' coalition of left-leaning political parties as a member of the Socialist Party. Following the end of military rule, Insulza was appointed Chilean Ambassador for International Cooperation in 1990. He became Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vice President of the International Cooperation Agency (AGCI) some time later. He became a member of the Chilean Association of Political Science, the Bar Association, and the Chilean Council of International Relations. On March 11, 1994, Insulza became

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

of Foreign Affairs under president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. On September 20, 1994, he rose to the position of

. On June 22, 1999, he became Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency. On March 11, 2000, he took office as

under president Ricardo Lagos.

Secretary General of the Organization of American States

Insulza was elected

on May 2, 2005, following Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez's withdrawal from the race. (''See'' 2005 Organization of American States Secretary General election.) On January 5, 2007, Insulza criticized Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez's decision not to renew television channel RCTV's broadcast license (Chávez had accused the station of being a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

instigator.) Three days later, Chávez responded to Insulza by calling for his resignation and referring to him as a ''

pendejo The Spanish language employs a wide range of swear words that vary between Spanish speaking nations and in regions and subcultures of each nation. Idiomatic expressions, particularly profanity, are not always directly translatable into other ...

''—a Spanish

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equivalent to "dumbass". Insulza later received the support of several OAS members, including the US, and Chávez conceded he had gone too far with his words. In April 2008, Chávez congratulated Insulza for stating in a presentation before the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere that there was no evidence linking Venezuela to terrorist groups. Insulza openly stated his intention to run for

President of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...

, but withdrew from the race on January 5, 2009 and vowed to continue as Secretary General of the OAS until the end of his mandate. He gave his support to

as the ''

'' candidate for president. On March 24, 2010, Insulza—the sole candidate—was reelected (with the abstention of Bolivia) as OAS chief for another five-year term. Insulza won th
Washington Office on Latin America's
prestigious Human Rights Award in 2008. In 2014 Insulza was awarded the prestigious Kalman H. Silvert Award presented by the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.

Criticism

As Secretary General, Insulza was criticized for not taking enough action against human rights abuses in the Americas. In 2008, the

Human Rights Foundation The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a non-profit organization that focuses on promoting and protecting human rights globally, with an emphasis on closed societies. HRF organizes the Oslo Freedom Forum. The Human Rights Foundation was founded i ...

started the "Inter-American Democratic Charter and Mr. Insulza" program, to inform Insulza every month of human rights abuses taking place in the Americas.

Later career

In 2019, Insulza joined the inaugural meeting of the so-called Puebla Group in Buenos Aires, a conference of left-leaning political leaders.Nicolás Misculin (November 9, 2019)
Argentina's Fernandez joins leftist leaders for 'Puebla Group' summit
''

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''.

References

Links

Biography at OAS siteInsulza CV
(OAS.org)
"Perfil de Insulza, futuro Secretario General de la OEA"
(El Mercurio Online, Santiago)

(grassrootsonline.org)

External links

"Checkmate by Default: Insulza Wins OAS Race because he is the Sole Candidate that Remains"
(The Council on Hemispheric Affairs, May 2, 2005)
Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Insulza, Jose Miguel 1943 births Living people Chilean diplomats Chilean exiles Chilean agnostics Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile Chilean Ministers Secretary General of the Presidency Saint George's College, Santiago alumni Universidad Iberoamericana faculty National Autonomous University of Mexico faculty People from Santiago University of Chile alumni University of Michigan alumni Popular Unitary Action Movement politicians Socialist Party of Chile politicians Candidates for President of Chile Secretaries General of the Organization of American States Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Senators of the LV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile