Sebastián Piñera

Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique ( born December 1, 1949 in Santiago de Chile) is a Chilean billionaire, entrepreneur and politician. From 2010 to 2014 he was President of Chile.

Biography

Sebastián Piñera, Ph.D., was born in 1949. Because of the work of his father's family emigrated to the United States soon after. After returning in 1955, he attended school in Chile and studied from 1968 economics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, graduated as valedictorian and was awarded the Raúl Iver Oxley Prize, named after a Professor of Economics at the Universidad de Chile. He then studied - as well as his brother José Piñera - at the U.S. Harvard University in Cambridge (Massachusetts), where he took his master's exam and a Ph.D. from in economics.

Political career

His first political activity, he developed still during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Nevertheless, he declared himself one of the few right-wing politicians of the time in public to the fact that he would vote in the plebiscite in 1988 for the end of the dictatorship, which then caused a great deal of attention. He also distanced himself from the economic policies of the Chicago Boys. In 1992, he then passed to the low point of his career when the right-wing politicians Ricardo Claro published a private telephone conversation in which Piñera and Pedro Pablo Díaz 's conservative politician Evelyn Matthei planned to denigrate. In the 1990s, he sat in the Senate before he bought the airline LAN Chile and the TV channel Chilevisión. In May 2005 he announced then on his first run for the presidency.

Presidential Elections 2005/2006

In the presidential elections in 2005, he was the presidential candidate of the Renovación Nacional. He defeated in the first round of the politicians of the Chilean right-wing party Unión Demócrata Independiente Joaquín Lavín and received 25.44 percent of the vote, which he had come into the runoff election, which took place on 15 January 2006 and the, the socialists with their presidential candidate Michelle Bachelet with 53 4 percent of the vote won.

Presidential Elections 2009/2010

In the presidential elections in Chile 2009/2010, he ran with his party Renovación Nacional ( "National Renewal" ) for the Coalition por el Cambio ( " coalition for change" ), which is used as a conservative counter block against the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia ( " agreement of parties for democracy " ), the then President Michelle Bachelet commonly chances were predicted. Indeed, Piñera won for himself and his party on December 13, 2009, 44.03 percent by far the most votes. In the following run-off election on January 17 against the ex-president Eduardo Frei Ruiz - Tagle Piñera could combine nearly 52 percent of the votes. Frei had declared his defeat after the announcement of the initial results. As election winner Piñera entered on March 11, for four years at the succession of socialist President Michelle Bachelet. Thus clothed first time since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, a conservative politician president.

Tenure

The earthquake of 27 February 2010, just days before inauguration occurred Piñera. In this transitional period, he worked closely with his predecessor Bachelet to allow a long-term assistance for the affected regions.

The Neue Zürcher Zeitung ruled occasion of the end of Piñera tenure, his government had gone " in many ways successful ": " In particular, its economic record is impressive, with growth rates in excess of five percent and a record-low unemployment".

On March 11, 2014 Michelle Bachelet again took over the presidency as successor Piñera.

Education protests

Been criticized Piñera in left -wing circles, especially for his attitude during the education protests in 2011 and 2012. His opposition to the demand for education reform, still originating from the period of the dictatorship, the largest part of private education system and the required of him harsh actions of the police were it sink dramatically in sympathy of the people. During his tenure thus includes not only the largest mass demonstrations since the end of the dictatorship, but he is also the most unpopular country's president since Pinochet ( at times with only 26 % support among the population). The government lost primarily by their late sympathies give in one, so they showed up in 2012 to meet with student representatives ready. The harsh police action against, some still underage students made ​​on the other side for a rapid identification of civil society with the protests, so they quickly escalated into general protests against the consumerist society structure in Chile that the since the economic reforms military dictatorship there.

Posititionen

Piñera is considered Christian- conservative politicians and social.

" The degree of civilization of a society is by how it treats its weakest members. These include the unborn. "

" The degree of civilization of a country can not be seen in material prosperity, quality of infrastructure or military power, but how a company treats its weakest members, the elderly, the sick, the poor and even the unborn. "

Controversies

The Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper wrote on January 18, 2010:

"The fact that Piñera a main owner of the largest Chilean airline and shares on the private TV station " Chilevisión " and the popular Chilean football club " Colo Colo " holds, earned him the reputation of being the Berlusconi Chile. "

In response to criticism of potential conflicts of interest Pinera sold in 2010, its stake in the airline LAN Chile and the TV station Chile vision.