Michelle Bachelet

Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (1951 - ) is a Chilean Socialist Party politician who has served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 (first woman to do so), and from 2014 to 2018. In between, she was the first executive director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In December 2013, Bachelet was re-elected as President of Chile with over 62% of the vote, bettering her previous margin. As a physician with studies in military strategy, she was previously Health Minister and Defence Minister. In a strongly Catholic country, she is a separated mother of three and describes herself as an agnostic. She is a proficient cumbia dancer. Aside from her native Spanish, she also speaks, with varying levels of fluency, English, German, Portuguese and French. She is now UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She is distinguished by her strength, grace and positive stance.

It was said that Chile was not ready to vote for a woman, it was traditionally a sexist country. In the end, the reverse happened: the fact of being a woman became a symbol of the process of cultural change the country was undergoing.