Stepping in front of the ranks

Chile names Latin America’s first woman minister of defense

By Charo Quesada

The recent appointment of a woman as minister of defense in Chile is an unprecedented and heartening event. Michelle Bachelet is the first woman ever to hold this position in Latin America. Moreover, she is a member of the Chilean Socialist Party leadership and the daughter of a general accused of treason and tortured to death by his fellow military under Pinochet.

Between these horrific events and the time Bachelet took office, Chile has undergone decades of difficult relations between civil society and the military establishment, even after the dictatorship. Bachelet’s appointment by Chilean President Ricardo Lagos is being interpreted as a gesture in a reconciled country, since the military has been supportive and respectful of the president’s choice.

Bachelet’s background is quite unusual. After graduating from medical school and specializing in pediatrics, she eventually became interested in the military. She subsequently earned a graduate degree from the Chilean National Academy of Policy and Strategic Studies and studied at the Inter-American Defense College in Washington. She has served as adviser to Chile’s past three ministers of defense. Her goal as minister is to modernize the armed forces and replace their weapons.

Upon taking office, the new minister—who is 49 and has three children—stressed her desire to work to ensure that the past does not repeat itself. She paid tribute to her father, General Alberto Bachelet, noting that he “would be extremely proud if he were alive.”

Date posted: January 2002