Andrés Pío Bernardino Chadwick Piñera (born 2 January 1956) is a Chilean

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, member of the Independent Democrat Union (UDI) party. He began his political career as a supporter of the

Pinochet dictatorship An authoritarian military dictatorship ruled Chile for seventeen years, between 11 September 1973 and 11 March 1990. The dictatorship was established after the democratically elected socialist government of Salvador Allende was overthrown ...

, and was present at the

Acto de Chacarillas The Acto de Chacarillas was a ceremony performed on the summit of Cerro Chacarillas in Santiago, Chile on 9 July 1977 organized by the Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990), military dictatorship of Chile. It was organized by the Frente Juv ...

in 1977. Chadwick was elected deputy for the District #33 in 1989, and was re-elected in 1993. In 1997, he was elected senator for the 9th Circumscription of the VI Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, and was re-elected in 2005 again. On 18 July 2011, he was invited by his cousin, President

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean 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 Party (C ...

, to become Minister Secretary General of Government. He was later appointed

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

on 5 November 2012 and his term ended on 11 March 2014. He joined the second government of Piñera on 11 March 2018 as Interior and Public Security Minister and held that position until 28 October 2019. On 11 December, Chadwick was

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

for his role in the 2019–2020 Chilean protests, including the large number of eye injuries attained by protesters. Chadwick is effectively banned from holding public office for five years (until 2024).

Biography

Andrés Pío Bernardino Chadwick Piñera was born on 2 January 1956. His parents were Herman Chadwick Valdés and Paulette Piñera Carvallo (sister of Bernardino Piñera). He is also first cousin of President

. Chadwick is currently married to María Victoria Costa Vega, with whom he has four children. Chadwick was a vocal supporter of the Pinochet

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

, which had previously appointed him president of the Catholic University Students Federation. In 2012, he expressed "deep repentance" for this support after discovering "over the years" serious human rights violations committed by the dictatorship, while defending the regime on other grounds.

Studies

Chadwick completed his primary and secondary studies in Colegio Verbo Divino in Santiago; he later joined the Law Faculty in the

Pontifical Catholic University of Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (UC Chile; ) is a traditional private university based in Santiago, Chile. It is one of the thirteen Catholic universities existing in Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical univ ...

Political career

Chadwick was appointed president of the Students Federation of the Catholic University of Chile (FEUC) by the

military regime A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a strongman, or by a council of mi ...

, and later graduated as a lawyer from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, later working as a professor. In the 1980s, Chadwick holds office in several political charges, such as in the Youth sections of the Independent Democrat Union Movement, National Unity, and National Renewal. He was a member of the

Chamber of Deputies of Chile The Chamber of Deputies () is the lower house of Chile's Bicameralism, bicameral National Congress of Chile, Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current Chilean Constitution of 1980, ...

between 1990 and 1998, and has been, since 1998, member of the

Senate of Chile The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile. Composition According to the present Constitution of Chile, the Senate is composed of forty ...

, representing the ninth O'Higgins commune.

Electoral history

Parliamentary election, 1989

Deputy for the District #33 of the communes of

Mostazal Mostazal () is a Chilean commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. The capital of the commune is the city of San Francisco de Mostazal. Geography The commune spans an area of . The ''Plaza de San Francisco'' has an elevation of . Demog ...

Graneros Graneros is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Graneros spans an area of and has 25,961 inhabitants (12,992 men and 12,969 women) ...

, Codegua, Machalí, Requínoa,

Rengo Rengo is a city and commune located in the Zona Central of Chile, situated in the Cachapoal Province of the O'Higgins Region at a distance of south of the city of Rancagua and south of the national capital Santiago. It was named after the c ...

Olivar Olivar is a commune in Chile, located in the O'Higgins Region, 10 km south of Rancagua, and administered by the municipality of Olivar. The main economic activities range from agriculture and food production, especially apples for exportatio ...

, Doñihue, Coínco, Coltauco, Quinta de Tilcoco, and Malloa, in the VI Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins.

Parliamentary election, 1993

Deputy for the District #33 of the communes of

, Codegua, Machalí, Requínoa,

, Doñihue, Coínco, Coltauco, Quinta de Tilcoco, and Malloa, in the VI Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins.

Parliamentary election, 1997

Senators for the 9th Circunscription of the VI O'Higgins Region.

Parliamentary election, 2005

Senators for the 9th Circunscription, VI O'Higgins Region.Resultados oficiales Ministerio del Interior
, Circunscripción 9, VI Región, Senadores 1997. En elecciones.gov.cl

References

External links

Andrés Chadwick's official website

in the

* ttp://biografias.bcn.cl/wiki/Andr%C3%A9s_P%C3%ADo_Bernardino_Chadwick_Pi%C3%B1era Biographical informationat the

Library of the National Congress of Chile The Library of the National Congress of Chile (, BCN) is a service of the National Congress of Chile that serves as an information center for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The library advises parliamentarians in the social sciences, law, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chadwick, Andres 1956 births Living people Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Piñera family Popular Unitary Action Movement politicians National Renewal (Chile) politicians Independent Democratic Union politicians Politicians from Santiago, Chile Colegio del Verbo Divino alumni Presidents of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Student Federation Ministers of the interior of Chile 20th-century Chilean lawyers Deputies of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the L Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Impeached officials removed from office 21st-century Chilean lawyers Chilean Ministers Secretary General of Government Impeached Chilean officials