Mariano Fernández Amunátegui was appointed the Chilean Ambassador to the United States July 1, 2006. Fernández studied political sociology at Bonn University, Germany, and received his law degree from Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales de la Universidad Católica de Santiago, Chile, in 1970.

 

From 1967-1974, Fernández was a member of the Chilean Foreign Service, which included serving as third secretary in the Embassy of Chile in West Germany from 1971-1974.

 

From 1974-1982, during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Fernández was in exile in Bonn, West Germany. During his time in West Germany, he worked as editor of Development and Cooperation Magazine, chief editor of the news agency IPS-Dritte Welt Nachrichtenagentur and chief editor of Handbuch der Entwicklungshilfe.

 

In 1982, Fernández returned to Chile after Pinochet fell from power. He worked as a researcher and member of the executive committee of the Centre of Studies for Development (CED) until 1990. For the next two years, he was ambassador to the European Community; followed by terms as ambassador to Italy (1992-1994); Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (1994-2000); ambassador to Spain (2000-2002); and ambassador to the United Kingdom until 2006.