SANTIAGO, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Chile’s President-elect Jose Antonio Kast on Tuesday appointed Jorge Quiroz as Finance Minister and named other members of his cabinet ahead of taking office on March 11.
Kast also named Daniel Mas as head of the mining ministry. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer and second-largest lithium producer.
The incoming president had previously informed business leaders of his plans to appoint Quiroz.
Quiroz, who holds a doctorate from Duke University in the United States, was the principal advisor for Kast’s economic program. Quiroz has said Chile’s economy is facing a “decline” from which it can recover by addressing issues such as security, deregulation, reducing the corporate tax rate, and implementing fiscal adjustments—the latter being a point of contention during the presidential campaign.
Mas, a businessman and current vice president of the country’s Confederation of Production and Commerce, has had a long career in the private sector, working in construction, real estate, and the financial services industries. He will simultaneously serve as Chile’s minister of economic development.
Kast also appointed two attorneys who had previously defended Augusto Pinochet, the dictator who ruled Chile with an iron fist from 1973 to 1990.
Human rights groups and family members of people killed during the dictatorship criticized the nomination of Fernando Rabat when rumors of his appointment leaked. Rabat, who defended Pinochet in an illicit funds case, will now lead the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, which is still overseeing cases linked to the dictatorship.
Defense minister Fernando Barros was also a vocal defender of Pinochet after he was detained in London in 1998, working to free the former dictator.
Kast also appointed Francisco Perez Mackenna as Minister of Foreign Affairs. For nearly three decades, Perez Mackenna led the business holdings of the billionaire Luksic family, one of Chile’s richest families. Daniel Mas was named as head of the ministry responsible for economic development.
Trinidad Steinert, a chief prosecutor in the northern region of Tarapaca, will lead the Ministry of Public Security, a central role in fulfilling Kast’s campaign promise to crack down on crime.
(Reporting by Fabian Cambrero; Editing by Alexander Villegas)
