Jose Antonio Kast

Jose Antonio Kast Rist, born January 18, 1966, in Santiago to a family of German immigrant descent, has served as the 38th President of Chile since March 11, 2026. A lawyer trained at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, he was active in the Gremialista movement as a student and supported the "Yes" side of the 1988 plebiscite on extending Augusto Pinochet's rule. He served in the Chamber of Deputies from 2002 to 2018, first as a member of the Independent Democratic Union before resigning that party in 2016 to run for president as an independent; he founded the Republican Party in 2019. He ran for president three times, finishing fourth in 2017, winning the first round but losing the runoff to Gabriel Boric in 2021, and finally winning in 2025 with more than 58 percent of the runoff vote against Communist Party candidate Jeannette Jara, the highest vote share of any candidate since Chile's return to democracy. His administration has emphasized deregulation, tax reduction and strict immigration enforcement.