Felipe Bulnes

Felipe Bulnes
Ambassador of Chile to the United States
In office
March 2012 – April 2014
PresidentSebastián Pinera
Michelle Bachelet
Preceded byArturo Fermandois
Succeeded byJuan Gabriel Valdés
Minister of Education
In office
18 July 2011 – 29 December 2011
PresidentSebastián Pinera
Preceded byJoaquín Lavín
Succeeded byHarald Beyer
Minister of Justice
In office
11 March 2010 – 18 July 2011
PresidentSebastián Pinera
Preceded byCarlos Maldonado
Succeeded byTeodoro Ribera
Personal details
Born (1969-05-27) 27 May 1969
Santiago, Chile
PartyRenovación Nacional (RN)
Spouses
  • Mónica Pellegrini
  • Carolina De Moras
    (2022–present)
ChildrenOne
Parent(s)María Teresa Serrano
Francisco Bulnes Ripamonti
Relatives
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Felipe Bulnes Serrano (born May 27, 1969) is a Chilean lawyer and member of the party National Renewal. He was first Minister of Justice and then he assumed office as Minister of Education following a cabinet shuffle on July 18 amidst the ongoing 2011 Chilean student protests but renounced about six months later on December 29 explaining that he left because a "cycle has finished" and not because he would be fired.[1]

In 2012, Bulnes was appointed by the government of Sebastián Piñera as ambassador to the United States, handing his credentials to President Barack Obama on May 1, 2012.[2] During his tenure, Chile was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program.[3][4]

He was afterwards Chile's representative at the La Haya International Court, after being renewed in that post by the government of President Bachelet. On November 23, 2015 he resigned this position and was replaced by former Minister José Miguel Insulza.

He graduated from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Harvard Law School.[5]

Family and education

He is the son of lawyer Francisco Bulnes Ripamonti (who died when he was fourteen years old) and journalist María Teresa Serrano.[6][7] His paternal grandfather was lawyer and Conservative senator Francisco Bulnes Sanfuentes.[6][7][8] Through this lineage, he is a direct descendant of Mateo de Toro y Zambrano and of Chilean presidents Francisco Antonio Pinto, Manuel Bulnes, Aníbal Pinto, and Juan Luis Sanfuentes.

He studied at Tabancura School in Santiago[6][8] and, from 1987 onward, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he graduated as a lawyer with highest distinction.[6][7][9]

He was previously married to Mónica Pellegrini Vial, with whom he has one son, Mariano.[10] Since 2018, he has been in a relationship with journalist Carolina de Moras.[11] The couple married in November 2022.[12]

Professional career

His first legal position was in 1989 as a court clerk while in his third year of law school at the Central Bank of Chile. He later worked at the law firm Cariola y Compañía and, in 1993, joined the firm Ortúzar y Águila at the invitation of Álvaro Ortúzar.[6][7]

In 1995, he took a one-year professional hiatus to study in Boston, United States, earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Harvard University.[7][9] Upon returning to Chile, he rejoined the firm, becoming a partner in 1997 (the firm later became Ortúzar, Águila y Bulnes).[6][8]

Among the most notable cases of his career are the lawsuit filed by the Bank of Chile against the Central Bank of Chile over subordinated debt, the entry and consolidation of Endesa in Chile, litigation between Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes, and the merger of Santander and Santiago Bank.[7][8]

He has served as professor of law and economics and civil law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and as professor of law and economics at the Adolfo Ibáñez University.[9]

He was a board member of the Chilean Bar Association between 2001 and 2005 and, in 2006, founded the law firm Bulnes, Pellegrini & Urrutia.[8][13]

Political career

He was a member of his party’s Political Commission, coordinator of the Civil Justice Commission, and a member of the Public Security Commission of the so-called Tantauco group.[9]

In February 2010, President-elect Sebastián Piñera nominated him as Minister of Justice, a position he assumed on 11 March 2010.[14] During his first year in office, he faced the aftermath of the San Miguel prison fire, which resulted in more than 80 inmate deaths and became the deadliest prison tragedy in Chilean history.[15][16][17]

On 18 July 2011, he left the Ministry of Justice to assume office as Minister of Education.[18] He took office amid the 2011–2013 Chilean student protests, which demanded reforms to the education system.[19] The political strain associated with the crisis ultimately led to his resignation on 29 December 2011, after which he was succeeded by Harald Beyer.[20]

On 6 May 2013, he was appointed Chile’s agent before the International Court of Justice in response to Bolivia’s claim seeking sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.[21]

In March 2014, President Michelle Bachelet confirmed him in that role prior to the start of her second administration.[22] On 23 November 2015, he resigned as Chile’s agent before The Hague and was replaced by José Miguel Insulza.[23]

He ceased serving as ambassador to the US in April 2014 and was succeeded by Juan Gabriel Valdés.[24]

References

  1. ^ Bulnes: "Renuncié por mi convicción política de que concluyó una etapa". Emol.
  2. ^ Embajador Felipe Bulnes presentó sus cartas credenciales ante Barack Obama
  3. ^ "Chile ingresa al Visa Waiver". El Mercurio (in Spanish). 2 March 2014. p. D6.
  4. ^ "EE.UU. dio el beneplácito a Bulnes como nuevo embajador". Emol (in Spanish). 28 February 2012.
  5. ^ "Ambassador from Chile: Who is Felipe Bulnes?".
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Felipe Bulnes". Qué Pasa (in Spanish). 23 August 2002. p. 46.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Felipe Bulnes". Capital (in Spanish). 1 August 2003. p. 62.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Felipe Bulnes". Qué Pasa (in Spanish). 8 April 2006. p. 28.
  9. ^ a b c d "Felipe Bulnes". Cooperativa (in Spanish). 9 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Anales de la República; Felipe Bulnes Serrano". Anales de la República (in Spanish). 2011.
  11. ^ "Carola De Moras y su relación con exministro de Justicia: "Somos una familia"". Meganoticias (in Spanish). 27 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Carolina de Moras se casó en Zapallar con el abogado y ex ministro Felipe Bulnes". Glamorama (in Spanish). 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Bulnes, Pellegrini & Urrutia". BPU (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  14. ^ "Felipe Bulnes será el agente de Chile ante demanda de Bolivia ante La Haya". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 6 May 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Incendio en cárcel de San Miguel". La Nación (in Spanish). 8 December 2010.
  16. ^ "El incendio en San Miguel deja 81 muertos". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 8 December 2010.
  17. ^ "En San Miguel hubo 81 reos muertos". El Mercurio (in Spanish). 9 December 2010. p. C1–C14.
  18. ^ "Piñera blinda Hinzpeter". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 18 July 2011.
  19. ^ "Bulnes asume en Educación". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  20. ^ "Nuevo ministro de Educación". Emol (in Spanish). 29 December 2011.
  21. ^ "Bulnes asume como agente en La Haya por demanda boliviana". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  22. ^ "Bachelet confirma a Felipe Bulnes como agente chileno ante demanda boliviana en La Haya". Emol (in Spanish). 4 March 2014.
  23. ^ "Felipe Bulnes renunció a ser agente en La Haya y José Miguel Insulza lo reemplazará". SoyChile (in Spanish). 23 November 2015.
  24. ^ "Presidenta Bachelet designó a Juan Gabriel Valdés como embajador en EE.UU". Cooperativa (in Spanish). 11 April 2014.

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