Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) 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 lawyer, economist and
social-democratic politician who served as
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 ...
from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the
Chilean military dictatorship and astounded contemporaries in 1988 by openly denouncing dictator
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 ...
on live television. He served as Minister of Education from 1990 to 1992 and Minister of Public Works from 1994 to 1998 under president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle before narrowly winning the
1999-2000 presidential election in a
runoff
Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to:
* RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program
* Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed
* Runoff or run-off, a stock marke ...
against
Independent Democrat Union
The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a civilian allied with ...
(UDI) candidate
Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago. Formerly Lavín has also been mayor of Santiago, ...
. Lagos was the third president from the center-left
Coalition of Parties for Democracy
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
to have governed Chile since 1990. He was succeeded on 11 March 2006 by Socialist
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 ...
, from the same coalition. From 2007 to 2010 he served as a
Special Envoy on Climate Change for the
United Nations Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary-g ...
Ban Ki-moon.
Lagos made an unsuccessful bid to run for president in the
2017 Chilean general election
General elections were held in Chile on 19 November 2017, including presidential, parliamentary and regional elections.
Voters went to the polls to elect:
* A President of the Republic to serve a four-year term.
* Twenty three of 43 members of ...
.
Early years
Lagos was born in
Santiago, Chile. He was the only child of Froilán Lagos Sepúlveda (a farmer who died when his son was eight years old) and Emma Escobar Morales (who died in 2005). He attended primary school at Liceo Experimental Manuel de Salas and high school at the prestigious
Instituto Nacional.
In 1961, Lagos married
Carmen Weber, with whom he had two children, Ricardo and Ximena. In 1969, he met
Luisa Durán
Luisa Durán de la Fuente (born 27 February 1941) is the wife of the former President of Chile Ricardo Lagos. She was First Lady of Chile during her husband's tenure (2000-2006).
Personal life
Durán was born to Hernán Durán Morales and Lui ...
and they married in 1971. The couple shared the parenting of the children of Lagos' first marriage, the children of Durán's first marriage, Hernán and Alejandro, and their only child together, Francisca.
While in university Ricardo Lagos attended the lectures of historian
Jaime Eyzaguirre
Jaime Eyzaguirre (21 December 1908 – 17 September 1968) was a Chilean lawyer, essayist and historian. He is variously recognized as a writer of Spanish traditionalist or conservative historiography in his country.Góngora ''et al''., pp. 201 ...
whom he held in high esteem.
Academic and diplomatic career
![Ricardo Lagos 1969](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Ricardo_Lagos_1969.jpg)
After obtaining his law degree from 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. in 1960, Lagos pursued a Ph.D. in Economics from
Duke University, which he completed in 1966. During that time he became a visiting professor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
political science department until 1965. After his time in North Carolina, he maintained ties with both universities. On his return to Chile, he was employed at the Institute of Economy of the University of Chile directed by Carlos Massad. In 1967, he was named Director of the School of Political and Administrative Sciences, a position he held until 1973, when he became Secretary General of the University of Chile. Lagos subsequently began work as a professor of economics in the School of Law at the University of Chile, and between 1971 and 1972 he was Director of the Institute of Economy. He was later named Director of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences.
During the 1970s, Lagos declared himself an "independent of the
left" and abandoned the Radical Party of Chile, which he had joined in 1961, when this party supported
Jorge Alessandri
Jorge Eduardo Alessandri Rodríguez (; 19 May 1896 – 31 August 1986) was the 27th President of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970, which he lost to Salvador All ...
's government. Although he did not possess much diplomatic experience, he worked with Hernán Santa Cruz as the Chilean delegates to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
and presented an outstanding speech on the international financial crisis. During the speech, he strongly criticized the decision of
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
to
suspend the convertibility of the U.S. dollar into gold, a measure that would end in the rounding up the Asian crisis. In 1972, 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 ...
appointed Lagos as the Chilean ambassador to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
, but the appointment was never ratified by
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
. As a Regional Director of the training program of post graduate studies in social sciences, he was later put in charge of Project
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, of the
United Nations Development Programme
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
(UNDP) in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
. As a public servant he also served Chile as a United Nations delegate with rank of ambassador at the 26th
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
. In addition, he was a delegate to the UN's 3rd Conference of Commerce and Development (
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...
).
Soon after the
1973 coup d'état, he and his family were sent into exile in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, where he took the position of Secretary General of the
Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences
The Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences ( es, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, pt, Faculdade Latino-Americana de Ciências Sociais or FLACSO) is a graduate-only university and inter-governmental autonomous organization for La ...
(FLACSO). He moved for a year to the United States, where he became visiting professor of the William R. Kenan chair for Latin American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1975, he worked as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme.
Lagos returned to Chile in 1978, and worked for the Regional Program of Employment of the United Nations, PREALC. During the implementation of policies imposed by the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...
his mission was to advise all the governments in the South American continent on the matter of employment.
Political career
During the 1980s, Lagos assumed a fundamental role in the fight for the recovery of democracy. In addition to being one of the leaders of the
Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...
, he became President of the Democratic Alliance, a force that grouped the majority of the democratic parties opposing the dictatorship of 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 ...
. In 1983, he decided to leave his position as international civil employee in the United Nations. In December of that year, he became president of the Democratic Alliance. In 1987, as the president of the Committee of the Left for Free Elections, he called on all citizens and parties to enroll in the electoral registries to vote "no" in a 1988 national plebiscite on whether Pinochet should be allowed to remain president of Chile.
Lagos became the undisputed leader of Pinochet's opponents after appearing in
Canal 13's first political debate show since the 1973 coup d'état, ''De cara al país'' (towards the country), where he stated; "With the triumph of "
No", the country will prevent General Pinochet from being 25 years in power, it will mark the start of the end of the dictatorship." Lagos then looked directly into the camera and accusingly raised his index finger to say directly to all viewers:
To this day, in Chile the phrase "Lagos' finger" refers to this memorable event; on that night, many people were convinced he would not survive to see the next day.
After the triumph of the ''No'' alternative and the subsequent resignation of Pinochet, Lagos declined to be a candidate for the presidency in spite of being the main leader of the opposition. Instead, he supported
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 ...
's candidacy and ran for a seat in the Senate for the Santiago-West district. On December 11, 1989, the day of the elections, he obtained the district's second majority. Nevertheless, he did not win a seat because his alliance's list did not double the vote of the second most voted list; this being a requisite in the Chilean electoral system created by Pinochet.
In 1990, Lagos was named Minister of Education by President Patricio Aylwin. In this position, he initiated reform aimed at increasing equality in access and improving education levels. In June 1993, he pushed for the notion of using primary elections in order to select 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's candidate for the following presidential election. He lost this primary to
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 ...
, who went on to become President of Chile. In 1994, Frei himself named Lagos Minister of Public Works. In this role, he developed an innovating system of road concessions, integrated the private sector in the construction of works and its later operation. During the Frei administration, he continued to be a leader of opinion and was a sure option for the following presidential election. His status was later ratified by his appointment as one of the members of the ''Committee of Twelve Distinguished Members'' of the
Socialist International
The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations ...
, which he shared with such personalities as
Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish lawyer, professor, and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and the 3rd Prime Minister of Spain since the ...
and
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Brundtland (; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician ( Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–89, and 1990–96) and as the director-general of the World Health Organizat ...
. This committee was set up to process proposals for the renovation of the
social democratic thought for the 21st century.
In 1999, Lagos resigned as minister in order to begin his presidential campaign. In the primaries, he defeated senator
Andrés Zaldívar
José Andrés Rafael Zaldívar Larraín, (born March 18, 1936) popularly known as ''El Chico Zaldívar'' ("Short Zaldívar"), is a prominent Chilean Christian Democrat politician. Andrés Zaldívar is of Basque descent.
Early years
Zaldívar wa ...
, of the
Christian Democratic 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 tea ...
to become the Concertación's sole presidential candidate. In the first round of the presidential election in December of the same year, he defeated right-wing candidate
Joaquín Lavín
Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago. Formerly Lavín has also been mayor of Santiago, ...
, by only 30,000 votes. Since he failed to obtain an absolute majority, as is required to be elected president, a presidential runoff was subsequently held in January 2000 for the first time ever in Chile. Winning 51.3 percent of the vote, Lagos became the new President of Chile.
Presidency (2000–2006)
Internal issues
During the first year of his term in office, Lagos had to confront a high level of unemployment, generated by the political instability of the region, in a process that began to revert during the end of 2003. He also promised to keep the budget deficit in check and interest rates and inflation low. Lagos enjoyed great popular support, bordering on 55%, and ending around 60-70% during the last six months of his term. He left office with an approval rating of 75%, a historic level of support for any politician in Post-Pinochet Chile. The policy of proximity with people was pronounced in the opening of the doors of the
Palacio de La Moneda
Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secre ...
, that had remained closed since the 1973 coup d'état. Lagos's lowest approval rating in office was 45%, a solid approval rating for any Chilean politician post-Pinochet.
On 3 April 2001, with a 63-37-4 vote, the
Chamber of Deputies of Chile approved a bill to
abolish the death penalty in Chile for civilian crimes and set the maximum punishment at
life imprisonment. The politicians who rejected the bill belonged to
right-wing Chilean parties. The law was set to go into effect as soon as then-President Lagos signed it, which he did weeks later. Justice Minister
José Antonio Gómez Urrutia praised both the Chamber of Deputies and Lagos for supporting the measure.
Beginning in 2002, Lagos' government had to face suspicions of political corruption due to the prosecution of one of his ministers, Carlos Cruz, and of other civil employees of the
Public Works Ministry, in the denominated MOP-GATE case.
Gloria Ana Chevesich, the judge in charge of this case, discovered that ministers, undersecretaries, and other officials of exclusive confidence of the President received additional payments to their regular remuneration: the so-called "extra payments". This irregularity was acknowledged by Lagos, who specified that the practice had also developed during the governments of Frei Ruiz-Tagle and Aylwin. The official position of the government consisted of not acknowledging the criminal nature of these practices and establishing a legal reform that increased the pay of ministers and undersecretaries of the government, a matter that was approved in its legislative proceeding.
Foreign relations
![Ricardo Lagos Escobar 2006 (Cropped & edited)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Ricardo_Lagos_Escobar_2006_%28Cropped_%26_edited%29.png)
During 2004, Lagos faced a series of tensions in his relation with other South American countries, caused by recurring Bolivian aspirations for
access to the sea
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
. This situation was linked with the power crisis taking place in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, an important supplier of natural gas to Chile. In bilateral meetings between Bolivian President
Carlos Mesa
Carlos Diego de Mesa Gisbert (; born 12 August 1953) is a Bolivian historian, journalist, and politician who served as the 63rd president of Bolivia from 2003 to 2005. As an independent politician, he previously served as the 37th vice pres ...
and Argentine President
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...
, the former agreed to the sale of Bolivian gas to Argentina under the condition that "not a single gas molecule be sold to Chile". Additionally, the
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n President,
Hugo Chávez, has supported in various instances the Bolivian sea claim, causing a diplomatic impassé between Chile and Venezuela. The tension between both governments had dissipated during July 2004.
Legacy
![Ricardo Lagos despedida (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Ricardo_Lagos_despedida_%28cropped%29.jpg)
During Lagos' presidency, Free Trade Agreements were signed with the
European Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
, the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
and
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by t ...
(though some of his supporters in the center-left
Coalition of Parties for Democracy
A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.
Formation
According to ''A Gui ...
consider that these agreements may have negative effects on the country); the incidence of extreme poverty was significantly reduced; the legal workweek was reduced from 48 to 45 hours; improvements were made in infrastructure and transport; an unemployment insurance scheme was created; as well as the AUGE health program guaranteeing coverage for a number of medical conditions; the ''Chile Barrio'' housing program; the ''Chile Solidario'' program; compulsory schooling was extended to 12 years; the first divorce law in Chile was approved; monetary compensation to victims of torture under the Pinochet regime identified in the
Valech Report
The Valech Report (officially The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report) is a record of abuses committed in Chile between 1973 and 1990 by agents of Augusto Pinochet's military regime. The report was published on November ...
was authorized; and, recently, a recast
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princ ...
was signed. He finished his six-year term with a historically high
approval rating
An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll (although strictly a poll is an actual election) is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions ...
of 70%.
Post-presidential career
Political
On 24 March 2006 Lagos inaugurated his own foundation called ''Democracia y Desarrollo'' ("Democracy and Development") in Santiago. Three days later he began a two-year term as President of the
Club de Madrid
Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 121 regular members from 72 countries, including 7 Nobel Peace Prize laureates and 20 first female heads ...
— an exclusive organization of former presidents created by a Spanish philanthropist to promote democracy across the world. He also assumed co-chairmanship of the
Inter-American Dialogue's Board of Directors.
On 2 May 2007 Lagos, along with
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Brundtland (; born Gro Harlem, 20 April 1939) is a Norwegian politician ( Arbeiderpartiet), who served three terms as the 29th prime minister of Norway (1981, 1986–89, and 1990–96) and as the director-general of the World Health Organizat ...
and
Han Seung-soo
Han Seung-soo (born 28 December 1936) is a South Korean politician and diplomat. He served as Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea from 29 February 2008 to 28 September 2009. He was the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Specia ...
, was named by
UN Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations.
The role of the secretary- ...
Ban Ki-moon as a
Special Envoy on Climate Change. His appointment was and still is very controversial among Chilean environmental groups who questioned his track record on the matter, claiming that he 'showed an utter lack of consideration for the environment, promoted policies against environmental sustainability and favored the interests of big economic groups, even defending crimes against nature internationally', favouring large corporations every single time there was a clash between local communities, environmental concerns and perceived economic benefits.
On January 14, 2017, Lagos accepted the Party for Democracy's nomination to run for president in 2017. However, he withdrew soon after the Party for Democracy, publicly backed
Alejandro Guillier. Following this he announced his retirement.
Publishing
In early 2007, Lagos became a member of the editorial board of ''
Americas Quarterly
''Americas Quarterly (AQ)'' is a publication dedicated to politics, business and culture in the Americas.
Distribution
''AQ'' has an established relationship with NTN24, an online news channel from Colombia with three million viewers, to broadc ...
'', a policy publication focused on relations and development in the Western Hemisphere. Lagos contributes regularly.
Academic
After abandoning power, Lagos taught a one-month special seminar at
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant uni ...
's Center for Latin American Studies, called "Democracy and Development in Latin America."
In May 2007,
Brown University announced that Lagos would take a teaching position at the
Watson Institute for International Studies
The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs is an interdisciplinary research center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Its mission is to promote a just and peaceful world through research, teaching, and public engagement ...
for a period of five years, starting on July 1, 2007.
In 2013, Lagos was a visiting professor at the
University of São Paulo
The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the bes ...
assuming the “José Bonifácio Cátedra".
Styles, honours and arms
National honours
*
![CHL Order of Merit GC and Collar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/CHL_Order_of_Merit_GC_and_Collar.svg)
Grand Master (2000-2006) and Collar of the
Order of Merit
*
![CHL Order of Bernardo O'Higgins - Grand Cross BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/CHL_Order_of_Bernardo_O%27Higgins_-_Grand_Cross_BAR.png)
Grand Master (2000-2006) and Collar of the
Order of Bernardo O'Higgins
The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( es, Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins) is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean ...
Foreign honours
* : Knight Grand Cross decorated with Grand Cordon of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi.
The highest-ranking ...
(3 March 2000)
* : Grand Cross (or 1st Class) of the
Order of the White Double Cross
The Order of the White Double Cross ( sk, Rad Bieleho dvojkríža) is the highest state decoration of the Slovak Republic.
The Order was instituted on 1 March 1994 after Slovakia became independent on 1 January 1993. It continues the Czechoslova ...
(2001)
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Grand Order of King Tomislav
The Grand Order of King Tomislav ( hr, Velered kralja Tomislava), or officially the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Great Morning Star (''Velered kralja Tomislava s lentom i Velikom Danicom''), is the highest state order of Croatia. It ...
("For outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and development co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Chile", 6 February 2004)
* : Knight Collar of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic
The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
(1 June 2001)
* :
Order of the Athir (7 May 2005)
* : On 24 May 2018, he was awarded the Doctor of Laws degree by
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 high ...
.
*:
Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay The Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is a distinction of Uruguay created by Law No. 16300 and awarded by the Presidency of the Republic at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to foreign personalities, by reason of the princip ...
(2002)
Arms
Coat of Arms of Ricardo Lagos (Chilean Order of Merit).svg, As Grand Master of the Chilean Order of Merit
The Order of Merit ( es, link=no, Orden al Mérito) is a Chilean order and was created in 1929. Succeeding the Medal of the Merit, which was created during the term of the President Germán Riesco through the Minister of War decree No. 1350 on ...
(Attributed)
Coat of Arms of Ricardo Lagos (Order of Isabella the Catholic).svg, As Knight of the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
(Attributed)
See also
*
Politics of Chile
Chile's government is a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Chile is both head of state and head of government, and of a formal multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and by their cabinet. Leg ...
References
External links
Appearances on C-SPANDemocracy and Development Foundation
Extended biography by the CIDOB Foundation
BBC Profile: Ricardo Lagos(January 2000)
*
ttp://www.coha.org/2005/10/11/the-lagos-legacy-and-chiles-upcoming-elections/ The Lagos Legacy and Chile's Upcoming Elections The Council on Hemispheric Affairs
Ricardo Lagos''
Freedom Collection
Freedom Collection is a digital repository sponsored by the George W. Bush Institute at the George W. Bush Presidential Center on Southern Methodist University's campus in Dallas, Texas. The collection documents major players in human rights and ...
'' interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lagos, Ricardo
1938 births
Living people
Presidents of Chile
Chilean Ministers of Public Works
Chilean Ministers of Education
Chilean democracy activists
20th-century Chilean economists
Chilean former marxists
Duke University alumni
Duke University faculty
Chilean agnostics
Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic
Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania
Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
University of Chile alumni
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty
Socialist Party of Chile politicians
Party for Democracy (Chile) politicians
Radical Party of Chile politicians
Politicians from Santiago
Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera alumni
Candidates for President of Chile
Chilean people of Spanish descent
Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay
Brown University faculty
Members of the Inter-American Dialogue
Special Envoys of the Secretary-General of the United Nations