Flavio Salazar

Flavio Salazar
Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation
In office
11 March 2022 – 6 September 2022
PresidentGabriel Boric
Preceded byAndrés Couve
Succeeded bySilvia Díaz
Personal details
Born (1965-10-07) 7 October 1965
Buenos Aires, Argentina
PartyCommunist Party[1]
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionBiologist

Flavio Andrés Salazar Onfray (born 7 October 1965) is a Chilean politician who served as the minister of science, technology, knowledge and innovation from March to September 2022.[2][3]

Biography

Family and education

Flavio Andrés was born on 7 October 1965 in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. He is the son of Manuel Segundo Salazar Maturana and Sonia del Carmen Onfray Gajardo.

He completed his primary education at Public School No. 247 in Quinta Normal and his secondary education at the Juan Bosco High School.[4] He continued his higher education in Sweden, earning a Bachelor of Science in biotechnology at Uppsala University between 1988 and 1992, and later completed a PhD in immunology at the Karolinska Institute, graduating in 1998.[5]

He is married to lawyer Elena María Francisca Valderas Fernández, who has worked at the Ministry of Public Works since February 2007.[6]

Professional career

In 1999, he joined the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile as an assistant professor. He later became a full professor at the Institute of Biomedical Sciences. From 2014 to 2022, he served as Vice-Rector for Research and Development at the University of Chile.

In 2009, he assumed the position of alternate director of the Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy.[7] That same year, he served as president of the Latin American Association of Immunology. He left his duties in March 2022 following his appointment as a minister of state.[8]

In parallel, in 2009 he was part of President Michelle Bachelet’s delegation during a state visit to India, and in 2007 and 2008 he was named a finalist for the Avonni Award by the Forum for Innovation of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction and the private sector.[9]

Among other activities, he served as president of the Chilean Society of Immunology and of the Latin American Association of Immunological Societies (ALAI). He also chaired the board of the technology cluster KnowHub Chile and is a member of the board of the International Human Phenome Consortium (IHPC).[9]

In 2023, he was inducted as a corresponding member of the Chilean Academy of Sciences.[10] Since 2024, he has been a member of the Strategic Advisory Group on Strengthening Regional Capacities for Innovation and Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies of the Pan American Health Organization.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Quién es Flavio Salazar, el nuevo ministro de Ciencia de Gabriel Boric". La Tercera. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  2. ^ Palma, Almendra (21 January 2022). "¿Quién es Flavio Salazar? el nuevo Ministro de Ciencias, Tecnología, Conocimiento e Innovación". Radio Bío-Bío. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ Lazcano, Patricio (6 September 2022). "La salida de Flavio Salazar, el ministro menos conocido por la gente". La Tercera. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Meet the 24 ministers of the new government". La Tercera (in Spanish). 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Flavio Salazar Onfray". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ "LinkedIn profile". LinkedIn. 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Biography of Dr. Flavio Salazar". IMII – Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  8. ^ Statutes; Latin American Association of Immunology
  9. ^ a b "Government of Chile: Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation". www.gob.cl (in Spanish). 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Chilean Academy of Sciences welcomes Dr. Flavio Salazar as corresponding member". academiadeciencias.cl (in Spanish). 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  11. ^ "The Strategic Advisory Group on Strengthening Regional Capacities for Innovation and Production of Medicines and Other Health Technologies holds its first meeting". www.paho.org (in Spanish). 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2025.