María Emilia Undurraga
María Emilia Undurraga | |
|---|---|
Official portrait (2018) | |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 6 January 2021 – 11 March 2022 | |
| President | Sebastián Piñera |
| Preceded by | Antonio Walker |
| Succeeded by | Esteban Valenzuela |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1975 (age 50–51) |
| Party | Evópoli |
| Spouse | Cristián Matetic[1][2] |
| Children | Four |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Sociology, Agronomist |
María Emilia Undurraga Marimón (born 1975) is a Chilean politician, sociologist and agronomist. She has served as minister of agriculture in the government of Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.[4]
Family and education
She is one of seven children of Pío Alfonso Franco Undurraga Mackenna and Rebeca de la Asunción Amalia Marimón Cousiño.[5] She is married to businessman Cristián Matetic,[6][7] with whom she has four children.[8] She is a member of the political party Political Evolution (Evópoli).[9]
She completed her higher education in agricultural engineering with a specialization in agricultural economics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. She later obtained a master's degree in sociology from the same institution and a master's degree in international development policy from Duke University in the United States.
Professional career
She lived and worked in the Valparaíso Region for more than eight years.[9] Later, during the first administration of Sebastián Piñera (2011–2014), she worked at the Institute for Agricultural Development (INDAP), where she oversaw territorial programs serving more than 100,000 farmers across Chile through technical and investment support. In that role, she led the drafting of the National Rural Development Policy.
She represented the Ministry of Agriculture in negotiations with indigenous peoples regarding the decree regulating indigenous consultation, which operationalizes Convention No. 169 of the International Labour Organization (ILO).[9] She also participated as a representative of Chile in international cooperation missions to Peru and Costa Rica. She served as Chile’s delegate to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on rural territorial policies.
Until March 2018, she was an associate researcher and part-time professor at the Faculty of Agronomy and Forest Engineering of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, participating in various projects, including a “Strategic Territorial Hub” funded by FIA.
From August 2018 to January 2021, she served as National Director of the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (ODEPA). She was the first director appointed through Chile’s Senior Public Management System (ADP).[9][10]
On 6 January 2021, President Sebastián Piñera carried out a cabinet reshuffle, removing Antonio Walker[11] as Minister of Agriculture and appointing Undurraga to the position, becoming the second woman to hold the office after Marigen Hornkohl in 2008.[8] She remained in office until the end of the administration in March 2022. Thereafter, she returned to university teaching.[9]
References
- ^ "María Emilia Undurraga". PUC's Agronomy Magazine. 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Nueva ministra de Agricultura, María Emilia Undurraga, asume con énfasis en el Desarrollo Rural". Oficina de Estudios y Política Agraria. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "María Emilia Undurraga". Government of Chile. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "María Emilia Undurraga, la directora nacional de Odepa que asume como ministra de Agricultura" [María Emilia Undurraga, the national director of Odepa, takes over as Minister of Agriculture] (in Spanish). ADN Radio. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
- ^ "Ficha en Infoprobidad". InfoProbidad (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ "Familia Matetic presenta plan tras posible daño ambiental en su viña Terra Pura". Emol (in Spanish). 21 August 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad Católica de Chile; María Emilia Undurraga y Cristián Matetic". Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (in Spanish). 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Nueva ministra de agricultura María Emilia Undurraga". ODEPA.cl. Retrieved 11 February 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "De Paris a Blumel: Los ex ministros de Piñera que derivaron en escritores". La Tercera (in Spanish). 11 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
- ^ "María Emilia Undurraga: Primera Directora de Odepa elegida por el sistema de Alta Dirección Pública (ADP)". Simfruit (in Spanish). 25 September 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Juan José Ossa y María Emilia Undurraga: Quiénes son los nuevos ministros de la Segpres y de Agricultura". La Tercera. 21 August 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2021.