Mónica Eliana Jiménez de la Jara (December 25, 1940 – August 25, 2020) was 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 ...

Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

politician and Minister of Education.

Early life

Jiménez came from a political family. Her father Oscar Jiménez Pinochet was

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

under President

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

, while her brother

Jorge Jorge is a Spanish Language, Spanish and Portuguese Language, Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth ...

occupied the same position under President

Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the first president of Chile after dictator Augusto Pinochet, a ...

. Even though she never formally joined the

Christian Democrat Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

until 2009, she supported it since she was a university student. She graduated as a social worker from the

Universidad Catolica de 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 ...

. In 1981, she obtained a

Fulbright The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

scholarship that allowed her to complete a Postgrade in Social Work Education at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

, in Washington D.C.

Career

She was a member of the

National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation The Rettig Report, officially The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report, is a 1991 report by a commission designated by Chilean President Patricio Aylwin (from the ''Concertación'') detailing human rights abuses resulting in dea ...

which investigated

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

abuses resulting in death or disappearance that occurred in

during the years of military rule under General

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 ...

. She was also a member of the Presidential Committee on Higher Education Certification and the Committee of the ''Fundación Paz Ciudadana''. Jiménez was also the leader of the project "University: Building a Nation", an initiative that unifies the social work of 13 Chilean universities. She was also president of the Educational Corporation ''Aprender'', which runs two schools for

socially disadvantaged Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...

children. During her professional career, Jiménez has been dean of Social Work at the Universidad Catolica de Chile, and president of the Teachers' Association of the same university, acting as their representative in the directive council. Before being appointed as Minister of Education by President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

on April 18, 2008, she was the president of the Catholic University of Temuco. She replaced

Yasna Provoste Yasna Provoste Campillay (born 16 December 1969) is a Chilean teacher and Christian Democrat politician of Diaguita descent, who served as minister during the presidencies of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet. In 2008, after frauds committe ...

, dismissed in April 2008 because of her participation in the corruption case known as '' Caso Subvenciones''. In July 2008, during a public debate called "Dialogues for Education" and in the context of a manifestation of repudiation by various stake-holders, the 14 years old student María Música Sepúlveda threw her a jar of water to the face to catch the attention of the Minister who ignored her while she tried to discuss the violent ways used by the police to expel students from the debate. The act was widely rejected by politicians of government and opposition parties, but has generated a mixed reaction in the general population. The student organisations, in particular, have openly supported and revindicated Maria Música's act. Since 2010 she has been the executive director of AEQUALIS (www.aequalis.cl), Forum for Higher Education. AEQUALIS, is a pluralistic, inclusive and innovative forum, where members communicate, hear and seek to arrive at a consensus in favour of common purposes. In its first stage (2010–2011) was unanimously considered an innovative and relevant initiative that, since civil society helped to analyze and promote policies of higher education. Members (approximately one hundred academics) coincide in appreciating that the social movement of the 2011 was a reflection of a situation of greater social significance therefore it should listen, meet and discuss their demands and incorporate them in a future scenario. Also, the Forum is a space that has made it possible to analyze our reality on the basis of relevant national and international experience in the matter. Currently, AEQUALIS have published eight books with the work they have done from 2010 to 2013.

Personal life

Jiménez was married to Juan Barros, with whom they had five children, and who died in 2002, leaving her a widow. Jiménez died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on August 25, 2020 at the age of 79.Fallece exministra de Educación Mónica Jiménez producto de un cáncer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Monica 1940 births Chilean Ministers of Education Women government ministers of Chile Christian Democratic Party (Chile) politicians 2020 deaths Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Catholic University of America alumni Women ambassadors Ambassadors of Chile to Israel Deaths from cancer in Chile Government ministers of Chile Fulbright alumni