Sunday, May 20, 2012
Felipe Bulnes
A lawyer, academic, and politician, Felipe Bulnes became Chile’s ambassador to the United States in May 2012.
Bulnes was born in Santiago on May 27, 1969, to lawyer Francisco Bulnes Ripamonti and journalist Maria Teresa Serrano. The ambassador’s father died when he was 14 years old.
He studied at the Colegio Tabancura de la capital (College of the Capital Tabancura) and at the Pontifical Catholic University, where he received his law degree with distinction.
Bulnes began his career as a prosecutor in 1989. In 1995, he took time out from his legal work to attend Harvard University, earning a graduate degree in law.
After returning to his home country, Bulnes became a partner in the firm Ortúzar, Eagle and Bulnes.
In 1998, he married Monica Pellegrini.
During his career, he has taught law and economics and civil rights at the Catholic University. Bulnes also has served as a professor of law and economics at the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez.
In February 2010, Bulnes joined Chile’s justice division. His time there coincided with a terrible fire at the prison in San Miguel de Santiago, where more than 80 prisoners died.
He left this post in July 2011 to become minister of education. He was forced to resign only five months later after masses of students demanded reforms to Chile’s education system, including free, universal, and nonprofit education.
The Associated Press reported: “As education minister, Bulnes failed to end the long protest by high school and university students. A negotiation process he initiated broke off shortly after it began when the government said it would not discuss free education for all students.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Felipe Bulnes (Wikipedia)
Chile Protests: Education Minister Felipe Bulnes Steps Down (by Federico Quilodran,
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