Gabriel Boric
President of Chile since 2022 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gabriel Borić Font (born 11 February 1986)[2] is a Chilean politician and activist. Boric is the 37th and current President of Chile since 2022. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2014 until 2022.
During the 2019 civil unrest in Chile, Boric was one of the politicians who helped create a referendum to change the Constitution.[3]
In 2021, he was selected as the presidential candidate of the Apruebo Dignidad coalition. He defeated José Antonio Kast in the second round of the presidential election, winning 55.9% of the votes. He is the youngest president in Chile's history and the second youngest state leader in the world. He is also the first Chilean president born during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.[4][5]
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Early life
Gabriel Borić Font was born in Punta Arenas in 1986. He has two brothers, Simón and Tomás.[6] He moved to Santiago to study at University of Chile's law school in 2004.[7] He failed his law exams and never graduated with a law degree.[8]
Student politics
In 1999 and 2000, Boric was part of the Federation of Secondary School Students of Punta Arenas.[9] While at university, he joined the Autonomous Left. He was an advisor to the Students' Union of the Law Department in 2008 and became its president in 2009.[10] He also represented students as a university senator from 2010 to 2012.[11]
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
Boric ran for Deputy in 2013 as an independent candidate to represent District 60. He was elected with 15,418 votes (26.2%), the highest number received by any candidate in the region.[12][13] Boric was mentioned as one of the most popular politicians in Chile according to different opinion polls.[14][15]
In the 2017 general election, Boric ran for re-election as an independent candidate supported by the Humanist Party. He won by 18,626 votes (32.8%).[16]
During his time, he was criticized for not dressing formally.[17][18]
Presidency
2021 campaign
Boric was the Apruebo Dignidad nominee for President of Chile in the 2021 election.[19] In November 2021, he advanced to the second round facing José Antonio Kast.[20] He was elected the 37th President a month later on 19 December after winning almost 56% of the vote.[21] He is the youngest president of Chile ever elected.[21] He was inaugurated on 11 March 2022.
Cabinet
Boric announced the ministers of his cabinet in January 2022.[22] Fourteen out of twenty-four ministers are women, making it the first cabinet in the Americas where more than half of its members are women.[23] He also nominated the first openly LGBT ministers in Chile's history.[24] He also hired Maya Fernández Allende, the granddaughter of former president Salvador Allende, in his cabinet.[23]
Tenure
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On his first day, Boric pushed for a law to create a 40-hour working week and increase the minimum wage. Also, he has proposed workers' representatives and gender equality on boards of large companies.[25] He has proposed the creation of a state company for lithium mining, increase the royalties paid by mining companies and protect the environment.[26]
During the first months of government Boric and people working with his government have had threats and physical aggression.[27] In April, Boric was attacked by a man who attempted to throw a stone at him.[28] On May one of Boric's bodyguards was kidnapped and shot in the arm by unknown assailants.[29]
Boric made his first presidential trip in April 2022, to Argentina, where he met with President Alberto Fernández. In Argentina, Boric said that any territorial issues with Argentina would be solved and supported Argentina's rule over the Falkland Islands.[30][31][32]
In April 2022, polling showed that Boric's disapproval rate had passed his approval rate.[33][34] Another poll that same month, found a similar increase in the disapproval of presidency.[35] The rise in disapproval is because of high inflation and violence in Araucanía.[36]
In May 2022, Boric decided to send troops to the southern part of the country, during the rising violence in the Mapuche conflict. Boric lost support from the Communist Party of Chile with this move.[37]
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Personal life
Boric has been open about his mental health issues such as obsessive–compulsive disorder. He took leave from congress for a few weeks after being hospitalized for it in 2018.[38][39] He is known for being a fan of rock and heavy metal music.[40] Boric is known for having visible tattoos and was the first Latin American head of state to have visible tattoos.[41]
Boric started a relationship with anthropologist and sociologist Irina Karamanos in 2019.[42][43] They have a pet dog, called Brownie. They live in Punta Arenas.[44]
Boric and Karamanos announced the end of their relationship in November 2023.[45]
In December 2024, Boric announced on Instagram that he and his partner, Paula Carrasco, a member of the Chilean women's national basketball team, were expecting their first child together.[46] Their daughter, Violeta Boric Carrasco, was born in June 2025. She is the first child born to a sitting Chilean president in 95 years.[47]
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References
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