Jeannette Vega

Jeanette Vega
Vega in March 2022
Minister of Social Development
In office
11 March 2022 – 25 August 2022
PresidentGabriel Boric
Preceded byKarla Rubilar
Succeeded byPaula Poblete
Undersecretary of Public Health
In office
14 January 2008 – 1 March 2010
PresidentMichelle Bachelet
Preceded byLidia Amarales
Succeeded byLiliana Jadue
Personal details
Born (1957-10-11) 11 October 1957
Party
ChildrenOne
Parent(s)Pedro Vega
María Rosa Morales
Alma mater
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionPhysician

Jeanette del Rosario Vega Morales (born 11 October 1957) is a Chilean politician and physician. Between March and August 2022, she served as Chile's Minister of Social Development and Family.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

On 25 August 2022, Vega resigned following a news report that one of her advisers, on her behalf, had contacted a Mapuche indigenous terrorist leader Héctor Llaitul who had called for an armed struggled against the state and who was arrested the day before.[7][8]

Biography

Family and education

She is the daughter of civil engineer Pedro Octavio Vega Marín and María Rosa Morales Umaña.[9]

She completed her primary and secondary education at the Liceo 7 of Santiago.[10] She pursued undergraduate studies at the University of Chile and later specialised in family medicine. Years later, she completed a PhD in public health at the University of Illinois in the United States.[10]

Professional career

After completing her postgraduate studies, she returned to Chile and subsequently worked at the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as a national consultant in epidemiology and chronic diseases.[10]

During the government of President Ricardo Lagos, in 2001, she became part of the “Executive Secretariat for Health Reform” and served as director of the Institute of Public Health of Chile, a position from which she resigned on 15 October 2002.[11] Subsequently, between 2003 and 2007, she worked at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva (Switzerland).[12] At the international organisation, she served as director of the Department of Equity, Poverty and Social Determinants of Health.[10]

In March 2018, she joined the UC Christus Health Network as director of Medical Innovation and Digital Transformation.[10] In addition, in her role as an external advisor to the WHO, in 2019 she collaborated with a group of scientists from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board to present the report A World at Risk: Annual Report on Global Preparedness for Health Emergencies. The document warned of the risks of a potential pandemic.[10]

The report indicated that the risk of widespread epidemics was becoming increasingly serious and that the world still lacked the necessary preparedness measures to face such a scenario. It stressed the need for a global emergency plan and an organised surveillance system, noting that “it is not possible to confront pandemics if each state wages the battle on its own”.[13]

References

  1. ^ Gamboa, Patricia Schuller (11 March 2022). "President Boric Swore In His Cabinet". La Nación. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Exsubsecretaria de Bachelet y asesora de la OMS Jeanette Vega llega al Ministerio de Desarrollo Social por mandato de Boric". El Mostrador. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  3. ^ "¿Quién es Jeanette del Rosario Vega, la nueva ministra de Desarrollo Social y Familia?". ADN Radio Chile. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Jeanette Vega: La ex subsecretaria "bacheletista" y asesora de la OMS que llega a Desarrollo Social". 24 Horas. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Jeanette Vega llega al Ministerio de Desarrollo Social". Radio Pauta. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Presidente acepta la renuncia de ministra Vega". 25 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Chile's Boric suffers first Cabinet resignation". Reuters. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Chile's Boric Fires Minister Accused of Contacting Extremist". Yahoo!. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Quién es y qué piensa Jeannette Vega: la ministra que dijo que en Chile hay presos políticos y que está en contra del Estado de excepción". Ex-Ante. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Quién es y qué piensa Jeannette Vega, la nueva Ministra de Desarrollo Social y Familia de Gabriel Boric". La Tercera. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  11. ^ "Director of the Institute of Public Health, Dr. Jeanette Vega, resigns". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). 15 October 2002. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Jeanette Vega arrives at the Ministry of Social Development". PAUTA (in Spanish). 21 January 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Mujeres Bacanas, Jeanette Vega (1957)". mujeresbacanas.com (in Spanish). 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2022.