Hernán Büchi

Hernán Büchi Buc Alberto (born 6 March 1949 in Iquique ) is a Chilean economist and politician. In recent years, the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, he was from 1985 to 1989 Chilean Minister of Finance. In the first free presidential elections in 1989 he was defeated as a candidate of the right. Today he works as a business consultant and board member of several leading Chilean company.

Training

Büchi, whose paternal ancestors came from Switzerland, gained at the Universidad de Chile a degree in mining engineering and an MBA in 1975 from Columbia University, which distinguishes him from the Chicago Boys, the monetarist embossed Economic experts of Chile, the one by education at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile typically studied at the University of Chicago. Despite the different training also Büchi pursued a market- liberal economic policies.

Career in public service during the military dictatorship

1975 Hernán Büchi began his career in the Chilean public service as advisor to the Minister of Economy, Pablo Baraona, and as a board of directors of state-owned sugar producer Industria Azucarera Nacional and the state-owned telephone company Compañía de Teléfonos (since 1978).

In 1979 he was appointed advisor to the Ministry of Economy. In this role, he worked with the Minister of Labour and Social Security, José Piñera, together, the initiator of private pension in Chile. In 1981 he was appointed Under-Secretary of Health and prepared there before the privatization of health insurance. During the recession of 1983/1984 in Chile, he took on more responsibility as Minister of Public Planning ( ODEPLAN ) and as head of banking supervision.

On February 12, 1985, he replaced Luis Escobar Cerda as the Chilean Minister of Finance. His appointment meant a change in fiscal policy with the return to the principles of monetarism, after his predecessor had espoused a rather Keynesian fiscal policy.

Büchi's goal was primarily to generate growth. To this end, he took several measures:

• A significant reduction in government spending through cuts in social spending, layoffs of public employees and pension cuts.
• Tax cuts
• The depreciation of the Chilean peso against the U.S. dollar. Thus, the export sector has been encouraged and more expensive imports.
• A radical privatization of state enterprises in the utilities and telecommunications sectors
• Control of interest rates by the central bank
• A controlled reduction of tariffs

Presidential candidacy

After Pinochet suffered a surprise in the referendum of 1988, a defeat (see main article: History of Chile ), the first free presidential elections were called since the beginning of the military dictatorship in 1973.

On 12 July 1989, the Unión Independiente Hernán Büchi Demócrata named as candidates. Other parties of the center-right Alliance Renovación Nacional, but also the party Democracia Radical supported him. The motto of the campaign was: Buchi es el hombre ( German: Buchi is the (correct ) man. )

In May 1989, Büchi had identified "vital contradictions " and had resigned from his candidacy. The Renovación reached then return to their original candidate Sergio Onofre Jarpa, interior minister under Pinochet, who had but abandoned in favor of the Büchi's candidacy. In July Büchi again changed his mind. He stated that he had overcome his doubts and took the candidacy again. In the elections Büchi reached 29.4 %, while the winning candidate of the center- left coalition Concertación, Patricio Aylwin was elected with 55.2 % of the vote for president. The third candidate, Francisco Javier Errazuriz, received 15.4%.

Today

After his election defeat, Buchi withdrew into private life and no longer actively attacked in political events. From 1990 on, he advised governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia in economic issues. In 1990, he founded the Instituto Libertad y Desarrollo, a think tank whose objective is the promotion of neo-liberal economic policies. Since 1994 he has served as chairman of the board of the food manufacturer Lucchetti, which is owned by the Luksic Group. In the Luksic Group, he holds other mandates. In addition, he has worked for Chilean mining company as a director.

It is believed that Buchi is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.