Cecilia Pérez Jara (born 23 September 1974) is a Chilean

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 ...

which has served as minister in the two governments of

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 ...

. From 2011 to 2012, she was

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

of the

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...

Biography

Early life

Pérez. was born in the capital

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

on 23 September 1974. She was one of the three children from the marriage formed by Luis Agustín Pérez and Ana Delia Jara. She completed her basic studies at the English High School in her hometown. Her secondary studies were carried out at the Corazón de María School of San Miguel. In 1994, Pérez entered the Universidad Nacional Andrés Bello (UNAB) Law School, graduating as a lawyer on 21 November 2010.

Political career

In 1995, she joined the political party Renovación Nacional (RN). Also, Pérez served as president of the board of the 26th District of La Florida commune. In 2006, Pérez was the Regional President of RN in the

as well as its General Counselor since 1998. From 1998 to 2006, she was Chief of Staff of then-Deputy Lily Pérez. In 2000, Cecilia was elected councilor for La Florida, where she was re-elected for three consecutive terms: 1) 2000−2004, 2) 2004−2008, and 3) 2008−2012. However, she didn't conclude her last period due to her appointment as deputy director of

National Women's Service The National Women's Service (; SERNAM) is a public service in Chile, a functionally decentralized organization, with its own funding, which is part of the cabinet-level Ministry of Planning and Cooperation under the President of Chile, created Jan ...

(Sernam). She has also served as Director of Communications in the Municipality of

Puente Alto Puente Alto (Spanish: "Tall Bridge") is a city and commune of Chile. It is the capital of the Cordillera Province in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, and is located in the south-east corner of the Greater Santiago conurbation. Puente Alto has ...

, where she coordinated relations between the municipality and the inhabitants of the commune. From 2008 to 2009, she actively participated in the leadership programs and seminars of the Women's Community on the topics of social co-responsibility, political communication, and the role of women. In 2010, Pérez was elected Vice President of RN for the 2010−2012 period, resigning the position upon assuming as Intendant of

. Similarly, she also served as caretaker Secretary-General of RN from July 2010 to December 2010. On 3 February 2011, she was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

as deputy director of the Sernam, holding the position from 7 February to 21 July, the last date when she was appointed metropolitan mayor by President Piñera. In that way, she was the third woman to hold that position in Chile after Adriana Delpiano and

Ximena Rincón Ximena Cecilia Rincón González (born 5 July 1968) is a Chilean lawyer and politician. She is formerly Chile's Labor Minister and former Ministry General Secretariat of the Presidency (Chile), Minister Secretary-General of the Presidency under ...

. On 5 November 2012, Pérez was appointed Minister Secretary-General of the Government by Piñera, who changed

Andrés Chadwick Andrés Pío Bernardino Chadwick Piñera (born 2 January 1956) is a Chilean right-wing politician and lawyer, member of the Independent Democrat Union (UDI) party. He began his political career as a supporter of the Pinochet dictatorship, and wa ...

. She hold that position until the end of Piñera's first presidential term on 11 March 2014. Once her functions as government spokesperson concluded, since March 2014 she has served as vice-president of the Fundación Avanza Chile board, a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

opposed to the second government of

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

(2014−2018). Since March 2014, she hosted the

Radio Agricultura Radio Agricultura (originally ''Radio Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura'') is a Chilean radio broadcasting network belonging to the association of landowners, Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA). It is run by ''Publicaciones y Difusión SA'' ( ...

program ''Las Cosas por su Nombre'' («The things by their name») alongside the writer Fernando Villegas. During Piñera's second administration (2018−2022), Pérez returned to the cabinet in March 2018, being appointed again as Minister Secretary-General of the Government. She remained in office until 28 October 2019 amid the Estallido Social.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Cecilia 1974 births Chilean Ministers Secretary General of Government Living people Andrés Bello National University alumni Intendants of Santiago Metropolitan Region Place of birth missing (living people) Women government ministers of Chile National Renewal (Chile) politicians Government ministers of Chile Ministers of sport of Chile