Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It occupies a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Chile covers an area of 756,096 square kilometres (291,930 sq mi) and has a population of 17.5 million as of 2017. The capital and largest city is Santiago and the national language is Spanish.
The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to subdue and colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony between 1540 and 1818, when it gained independence from Spain. The country's economic development was successively marked by the export of first agricultural produce, then saltpeter and later copper. The wealth of raw materials led to an economic upturn, but also led to dependency, and even wars with neighboring states. Chile was governed during most of its first 150 years of independence by different forms of restricted government, where the electorate was carefully vetted and controlled by an elite.
Chile's government is a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Chile is both head of state and head of government, and of a formal multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and his or her cabinet. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the National Congress. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature of Chile.
The economy of Chile is a market economy and high-income economy as ranked by the World Bank, and is considered one of South America's most prosperous nations, leading the region in competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. Although Chile has high economic inequality, as measured by the Gini index, it is close to the regional mean.
The Andean Community is a free trade area with the objective of creating a customs union comprising the South American countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The trade bloc was called the Andean Pact until 1969 and came into existence when the Cartagena Agreement was signed in 1996. Its headquarters are in Lima, Peru.
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Chilean politician who has served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights since 2018. She also previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 2018 for the Socialist Party of Chile, she is the first woman to hold the Chilean presidency. After leaving the presidency in 2010 and while not immediately reelectable, she was appointed the first executive director of the newly created United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In December 2013, Bachelet was reelected with over 62% of the vote, bettering the 54% she obtained in 2006. She was the first President of Chile to be reelected since 1932.
The Union of South American Nations is an intergovernmental regional organization that once comprised twelve South American countries; as of 2019, most have withdrawn.
Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique is a Chilean billionaire businessman, who has been President of Chile since 2018. He previously served as president from 2010 to 2014.
Valdivia is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau Rivers, approximately 15 km (9 mi) east of the coastal towns of Corral and Niebla. Since October 2007, Valdivia has been the capital of Los Ríos Region and is also the capital of Valdivia Province. The national census of 2002 recorded the commune of Valdivia as having 140,559 inhabitants (Valdivianos), of whom 127,750 were living in the city. The main economic activities of Valdivia include tourism, wood pulp manufacturing, forestry, metallurgy, and beer production. The city is also the home of the Austral University of Chile, founded in 1954 and the Centro de Estudios Científicos.
Lota is a city and commune located in the center of Chile on the Gulf of Arauco, in the southern Concepción Province of the Biobío Region, 39 kilometres south of Concepción, and is one of the ten cities (communes) that constitutes the Concepción metropolitan area. The city is mostly known for being the traditional centre of coal mining in Chile, albeit mining ended in the 1990s.
Ricardo Andrés Lagos Weber, son of former Chilean president Ricardo Lagos, is a politician who served as the Ministry General Secretariat of Government of Chile in the administration of former President Michelle Bachelet after having worked for Bachelet's 2005-2006 campaign. He is trained in law and economics, and has served the majority of his government career in economic positions. He was also an organizer and the senior representative for Chile at the Annual Meeting of APEC held in Chile in 2004, in addition to being one of the architects of the free trade agreements that Chile signed with the United States and the European Union as the head of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Trade Policy. He is a member of the Party for Democracy (PPD). Between March 2016 and March 2017 he was President of the Senate of Chile.
Chile–Russia relations refers to the bilateral foreign relations between Chile and Russia. The establishment of diplomatic relations between Chile and the USSR countries happened on December 11, 1944.
Chilean-Mexican relations refers to the historical and current bilateral relationship between the Republic of Chile and the United Mexican States. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Latin American Integration Association, Organization of Ibero-American States, Organization of American States, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Alliance and the United Nations.
Chile–Italy relations refers to the current and historical relations between the Republic of Chile and the Italian Republic. The relationship between Chile and Italy is based on a long history of contacts that have taken place at the political level, but also due to the presence of an important Italian community in Chile and Chileans in Italy. Both nations are members of the OECD and the United Nations.
The Australia–Chile Free Trade Agreement is a trade agreement between the countries of Chile and Australia. It was signed on July 30, 2008 and went into effect in the 1st quarter of 2009. The agreement was intended to go into effect on January 1, 2009, but was delayed due to Chile not being able to finish its ratification in time.
Chile–Spain relations refers to the current and historical relations between Chile and Spain. Both nations are members of the Association of Spanish Language Academies, Organization of Ibero-American States, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United Nations.
Chile–Sweden relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Chile and Sweden. Both nations enjoy friendly relations, the importance of which centers on the history of Chilean migration to Sweden during the 1970s. Approximately 100,000 Chileans and their descendants reside in Sweden, making the country home to the third largest Chilean diaspora community. Both countries are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Chile–France relations refers to the diplomatic relations between Chile and France. Both nations are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
The 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP25, is the 25th United Nations Climate Change conference. It was held in Madrid, Spain, from 2 to 13 December 2019 under the presidency of the Chilean government. The conference incorporated the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 15th meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP15), and the second meeting of the parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA2).
Arturo Carvajal Acuña was a Chilean politician. He was president of the Union of the Iris Office and Provincial Secretary of the Chile Central labor Trade union (CUT). He was an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile between 1965 and 1973.
