Felipe Kast

Chilean economist, politician and consultant

Felipe Kast
Official portrait, 2022.

Member of the Senate of Chile
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 March 2018
Preceded by	Creation of the charge
Constituency	11th Circunscription (Araucanía Region)
President of Evópoli
In office 26 January 2015 – 6 November 2016
Preceded by	María Francisca Correa
Succeeded by	Jorge Saint-Jean
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile
In office 11 March 2014 – 11 March 2018
Preceded by	Alberto Cardemil
Succeeded by	Dissolution of the charge
Constituency	22nd District (Santiago Centro)
Minister of Planning
In office 11 March 2010 – 13 October 2011
Preceded by	Paula Quintana
Succeeded by	Joaquín Lavín

Personal details
Born	(1977-06-09) 9 June 1977 (age 46) Santiago, Chile
Political party	Evópoli (2012–present)
Spouse	Emelia Puga
Children	Four
Parent(s)	Miguel Kast Rist Cecilia Christine Sommerhoff Hyde
Relatives	José Antonio Kast (uncle) Javier Etcheberry (stepfather) Pablo Kast (brother) Michael Kast (grandfather) Robert Schumann (great-great-great-grandfather) Clara Schumann (great-great-great-grandmother)
Alma mater	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (BA, MA) Harvard Kennedy School (PhD)
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Economist

Felipe José Kast Sommerhoff (born 9 June 1977) is a Chilean economist, researcher, consultant, and politician.

Early life and family

Kast is a nephew of far-right politician José Antonio Kast and son of the late economist Miguel Kast, who served as Minister of State and President of the Central Bank under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He is also the grandson of Michael Kast,^[1] a German officer who escaped American custody, obtained a false identity, and migrated to Chile in 1950, and great-great-great-grandson of German composers Robert Schumann and Clara Schumann.^{[citation needed]}

Career

A graduate in economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile with a PhD from Harvard University,^[2] Kast has been Minister of Planning, presidential candidate in the 2017 primary elections and deputy for the commune of Santiago between 2014 and 2018. He currently serves as senator for the Araucanía Region after being elected to a six-year term in the 2017 parliamentary elections.^{[citation needed]}

As a right-wing independent,^{[citation needed]} Kast actively participated in President Sebastián Piñera's first government, first as Minister of State and then as Presidential Delegate for emergency camps and villages occupied by 27 February 2010 Earthquake victims.

Kast is a founder and former president of Evópoli, a conservative-liberal and centre-right party.^[3] In what was described as a blow to Kast Gloria Hutt was elected president of the party in October 2022 rather than Kast's candidate Luciano Cruz-Coke.^[4]

References

^ PIlleux Cepeda, Mauricio (16 January 2020). "Kast". Genealog (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
^ "Felipe Kast asume como director del programa social de Libertad y Desarrollo" (in Spanish). Emol. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
^ "Operación Infancia: el sueño de hacer de Chile un país más justo". Araucanía Diario (in Spanish). 2 January 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "La victoria de Gloria Hutt sobre Cruz-Coke: el trasfondo de la primera derrota interna de Felipe Kast en Evópoli". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.