Jaime Gajardo Falcón
Jaime Gajardo | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Justice and Human Rights | |
| In office 17 October 2024 – 11 March 2026 | |
| President | Gabriel Boric |
| Preceded by | Luis Cordero Vega |
| Succeeded by | Fernando Rabat |
| In office 7 January 2023 – 11 January 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Marcela Ríos |
| Succeeded by | Luis Cordero Vega |
| Undersecretary of Justice | |
| In office 11 March 2022 – 17 October 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Sebastián Valenzuela Agüero |
| Succeeded by | Ernesto Muñoz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 February 1981 |
| Party | Communist Party (1989−present) |
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Jaime Eduardo Gajardo Falcón (born 27 February 1981) is a Chilean politician who currently serves as Minister of Justice.[1][2]
Biography
Born in 1981, he is the son of Jaime Gajardo Orellana, a teacher, trade union leader, and former president of the Chilean Teachers' Association.
Education
He completed his primary and secondary education at the Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, graduating in 1998. He then pursued higher education in law at the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer. Subsequently, he completed a bachelor's degree in legal sciences and social sciences at the same institution, graduating in 2005 with a thesis titled Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Free Trade Treaties Ratified by Chile.[3]
He later completed a diploma in labour law at Universidad Internacional SEK in 2006;[3] a diploma in management of public services and public enterprises at the Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo, Spain, in 2012;[3] a master’s degree in law with a specialization in public law at the University of Chile, graduating with highest distinction and presenting the thesis Multiculturalism, Its Normative Reception and Perspectives in Chile and Bolivia: A Comparative Study, also in 2012;[3]
In 2013, he completed another master’s degree in constitutional law at the Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies of Spain, with the thesis titled A Comparative Study of the Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights on Political Representation in Multicultural Contexts, in 2013;[3] a master’s degree in governance and human rights, graduating with highest distinction and presenting the thesis Group Rights in the Inter-American Human Rights Protection System;[3]
In 2018, he completed a Ph.D in law and political science, with the dissertation titled Multiculturalism and Its Perspective in the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: A Comparative Study, both degrees awarded by the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain, in 2018.[1][3]
Professional career
He has practiced his profession for sixteen years in both the public and private sectors.[1] In this capacity, he has represented trade unions and worked on human rights cases.[1]
He has also served as a professor of constitutional law at the ARCIS University between 2008 and 2011;[1] as a workshop instructor at the University of Chile between 2015 and 2016; as a professor of indigenous law at the Alberto Hurtado University between 2017 and 2022; and again as a professor of constitutional law at the Diego Portales University since 2018.[1]
Political career
A member of the Communist Party of Chile (PC), in February 2022 he was appointed by then president-elect Gabriel Boric as head of the Subsecretariat of Justice, within the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights. He assumed office on 11 March of that year, coinciding with the formal start of the administration.[1]
On 7 January 2023, following the resignation of Marcela Ríos from her post as Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Gajardo assumed the position on an interim basis.[4]
On 17 October 2024, following the appointment of then Minister of Justice and Human Rights Luis Cordero Vega as Undersecretary of the Interior, Gajardo was appointed by President Gabriel Boric as Minister of Justice and Human Rights. With this appointment, he became the first member of the Communist Party to hold the post since Sergio Insunza in 1973, during the government of Salvador Allende.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Quién es Jaime Gajardo Falcón, próximo subsecretario de Justicia del gobierno de Boric". Radio Bío-Bío. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "Presidente Boric designa al abogado Luis Cordero Vega como nuevo ministro de Justicia". La Tercera. 7 January 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jaime Gajardo Falcón". Facultad de Derecho - Universidad Diego Portales. 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ "Marcela Ríos resigns from the Ministry of Justice before completing ten months in office". La Tercera. Retrieved 7 January 2023.