Evelyn Matthei

Evelyn Matthei
Official portrait, 2023
Mayor of Providencia
In office
6 December 2016 – 6 December 2024
Preceded byJosefa Errázuriz
Succeeded byJaime Bellolio
Ministry of Labor and Social Provision
In office
16 January 2011 – 22 July 2013
PresidentSebastián Piñera
Preceded byCamila Merino
Succeeded byJuan Carlos Jobet
Member of the Senate
for Coquimbo
In office
11 March 1998 – 16 January 2011
Preceded byAlberto Cooper
Succeeded byGonzalo Uriarte Herrera
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
11 March 1990 – 11 March 1998
Constituency23rd district (1990–1994)
15th district (1994–1998)
Personal details
Born
Evelyn Rose Matthei Fornet

(1953-11-11) 11 November 1953 (age 71)
Santiago, Chile
Political partyRN (1987–1993)
Independent (1993–1999)
UDI (1999–present)
Other political
affiliations
Alliance (1989–2015)
Chile Vamos (2015–present)
Spouse
(m. 1979)
Children3
Parent(s)Fernando Matthei (father)
Elda Fornet (mother)
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Chile
OccupationEconomistPolitician
Signature

Evelyn Rose Matthei Fornet (born 11 November 1953) is a Chilean politician and the current mayor of Providencia, a commune of Santiago, serving since 2016. Prior to her current position, she held the role of member of the Chilean Congress from 1990 to 1998, and subsequently served as a Senator from 1998 to 2011. In January 2011, she left her Senate seat to assume the role of Minister of Labor and Social Security under Chilean President Sebastián Piñera until July 2013.[1] In the 2013 Chilean general election, she ran for President with the support of the Independent Democrat Union Party. However, she lost in a runoff to former President Michelle Bachelet.[2]

An economist by training, Matthei began her professional career as a lecturer at her alma mater, the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, before transitioning to a management role in the private sector.[3] Following Chile's return to democracy in 1988, she ventured into politics. Besides her political career, Matthei is also an accomplished pianist.[4]

After a failed candidacy in the 2021 presidential election, Matthei is emerging as the front-runner for the 2025 presidential election.[5]

  1. ^ Senate Resume Archived 2014-06-30 at the Wayback Machine (Spanish).
  2. ^ La Tercera Archived 2013-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, July 20th, 2013. (Spanish)
  3. ^ Biography, National Congress website "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2013-07-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (Spanish).
  4. ^ La Tercera Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, June 3rd, 2012 (Spanish).
  5. ^ "Evelyn Matthei, la figura de la derecha tradicional de Chile que le planta cara a Kast". El País España (in Spanish). October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.