María Ignacia Benítez (1 August 1958 – 28 February 2019) was the Chilean Minister of the Environment, between 2010 and 2014.

Biography

Benítez was born in

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune on Zona Central, Chile, central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located withi ...

in Chile. She was the oldest of five children. She went to school locally before studying civil engineering at the

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

. She served under General Pinochet before leaving to be a consultant. In March 2010, she was appointed to be the Minister of the Environment by the President of Chile

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 ...

despite conflicts of interest with her business interests.Appointment
1 February 2010, accessed October 2012 The previous minister was Ana Lya Uriarte. In 2012, she had a public row with the Supreme Court who were holding up a contract she was interested in. Accusations of "improper and unacceptable interference" were made against her. Benítez was married and had three children. She died of pancreatic cancer in February 2019.Fallece ex ministra de Sebastián Piñera María Ignacia Benítez
(in Spanish)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benitez, Maria Ignacia 1958 births 2019 deaths People from Viña del Mar Chilean civil engineers Government ministers of Chile Women government ministers of Chile Chilean women engineers 20th-century women engineers Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Chile Independent Democratic Union politicians 21st-century Chilean engineers 20th-century Chilean engineers University of Chile alumni