{{Short description|Chilean politician (born 1969)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Felipe Bulnes | image = Felipe Bulnes.jpg | caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1969|5|27}} | birth_place = Santiago, Chile | office = Ambassador of Chile to the United States | president = Sebastián Pinera<br/>Michelle Bachelet | term_start = March 2012 | term_end = April 2014 | predecessor = Arturo Fermandois | successor = Juan Gabriel Valdés | office1 = Minister of Education | president1 = Sebastián Pinera | term_start1 = 18 July 2011 | term_end1 = 29 December 2011 | predecessor1 = Joaquín Lavín | successor1 = Harald Beyer | office2 = Minister of Justice | president2 = Sebastián Pinera | term_start2 = 11 March 2010 | term_end2 = 18 July 2011 | predecessor2 = Carlos Maldonado | successor2 = Teodoro Ribera | party = Renovación Nacional (RN) | alma_mater = {{Unbulleted list|Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (LL.B)|Harvard University (Ph.D)}} | occupation = Politician | profession = Lawyer | parents = María Teresa Serrano<br/>Francisco Bulnes Ripamonti | spouse = {{Unbulleted list|Mónica Pellegrini|Carolina De Moras<br/>(2022–present)}} | children = One | relatives = {{Unbulleted list|Manuel Bulnes|Francisco Bulnes}} | footnotes = }} '''Felipe Bulnes Serrano''' (born May 27, 1969) is a Chilean lawyer and member of the party National Renewal. He was first Minister of Justice and then he assumed office as Minister of Education following a cabinet shuffle on July 18 amidst the ongoing 2011 Chilean student protests but renounced about six months later on December 29 explaining that he left because a "cycle has finished" and not because he would be fired.<ref>[http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2011/12/29/519344/felipe-bulnes-renuncie-por-mi-conviccion-politica-de-que-se-ha-concluido-una-etapa.html Bulnes: "Renuncié por mi convicción política de que concluyó una etapa"]. Emol.</ref>
In 2012, Bulnes was appointed by the government of Sebastián Piñera as ambassador to the United States, handing his credentials to President Barack Obama on May 1, 2012.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120525232351/http://www.chile-usa.org/credencialesfelipebulnes.htm Embajador Felipe Bulnes presentó sus cartas credenciales ante Barack Obama]</ref> During his tenure, Chile was admitted to the Visa Waiver Program.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chile ingresa al Visa Waiver |work=El Mercurio |language=es |date=2 March 2014 |page=D6 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2012/02/28/528411/estados-unidos-entrego-su-beneplacito-a-felipe-bulnes-como-nuevo-embajador.html |title=EE.UU. dio el beneplácito a Bulnes como nuevo embajador |website=Emol |language=es |date=28 February 2012 }}</ref>
He was afterwards Chile's representative at the La Haya International Court, after being renewed in that post by the government of President Bachelet. On November 23, 2015 he resigned this position and was replaced by former Minister José Miguel Insulza.
He graduated from Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and Harvard Law School.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allgov.com/news/appointments-and-resignations/ambassador-from-chile-who-is-felipe-bulnes?news=844496|title=Ambassador from Chile: Who is Felipe Bulnes?}}</ref>
== Family and education == He is the son of lawyer Francisco Bulnes Ripamonti (who died when he was fourteen years old) and journalist María Teresa Serrano.<ref name="quepasa2">{{cite news |title=Felipe Bulnes |work=Qué Pasa |language=es |date=23 August 2002 |page=46 }}</ref><ref name="capital">{{cite news |title=Felipe Bulnes |work=Capital |language=es |date=1 August 2003 |page=62 }}</ref> His paternal grandfather was lawyer and Conservative senator Francisco Bulnes Sanfuentes.<ref name="quepasa2" /><ref name="capital" /><ref name="quepasa">{{cite news |title=Felipe Bulnes |work=Qué Pasa |language=es |date=8 April 2006 |page=28 }}</ref> Through this lineage, he is a direct descendant of Mateo de Toro y Zambrano and of Chilean presidents Francisco Antonio Pinto, Manuel Bulnes, Aníbal Pinto, and Juan Luis Sanfuentes.
He studied at Tabancura School in Santiago<ref name="quepasa2" /><ref name="quepasa" /> and, from 1987 onward, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he graduated as a lawyer with highest distinction.<ref name="quepasa2" /><ref name="capital" /><ref name="cooperativa">{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativa.cl/prontus_nots/site/artic/20100209/pags/20100209150610.html |title=Felipe Bulnes |website=Cooperativa |language=es |date=9 February 2010 }}</ref>
He was previously married to Mónica Pellegrini Vial, with whom he has one son, Mariano.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://anales.cl/bulnes-serrano-felipe/ |title=Anales de la República; Felipe Bulnes Serrano |website=Anales de la República |language=es |date=2011 }}</ref> Since 2018, he has been in a relationship with journalist Carolina de Moras.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.meganoticias.cl/tendencias/320165-carola-de-moras-felipe-bulnes-pareja-2020-hija-pox09.html |title=Carola De Moras y su relación con exministro de Justicia: "Somos una familia" |website=Meganoticias |language=es |date=27 November 2020 }}</ref> The couple married in November 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://glamorama.latercera.com/noticias/2022/11/carolina-de-moras-se-caso-en-zapallar-con-el-abogado-y-ex-ministro-felipe-bulnes.shtml/ |title=Carolina de Moras se casó en Zapallar con el abogado y ex ministro Felipe Bulnes |website=Glamorama |language=es |date=22 November 2022 |access-date=22 November 2022 }}</ref>
== Professional career ==
His first legal position was in 1989 as a court clerk while in his third year of law school at the Central Bank of Chile. He later worked at the law firm Cariola y Compañía and, in 1993, joined the firm Ortúzar y Águila at the invitation of Álvaro Ortúzar.<ref name="quepasa2" /><ref name="capital" />
In 1995, he took a one-year professional hiatus to study in Boston, United States, earning a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from Harvard University.<ref name="capital" /><ref name="cooperativa" /> Upon returning to Chile, he rejoined the firm, becoming a partner in 1997 (the firm later became Ortúzar, Águila y Bulnes).<ref name="quepasa2" /><ref name="quepasa" />
Among the most notable cases of his career are the lawsuit filed by the Bank of Chile against the Central Bank of Chile over subordinated debt, the entry and consolidation of Endesa in Chile, litigation between Coca-Cola and Cadbury Schweppes, and the merger of Santander and Santiago Bank.<ref name="capital" /><ref name="quepasa" />
He has served as professor of law and economics and civil law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and as professor of law and economics at the Adolfo Ibáñez University.<ref name="cooperativa" />
He was a board member of the Chilean Bar Association between 2001 and 2005 and, in 2006, founded the law firm Bulnes, Pellegrini & Urrutia.<ref name="quepasa" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100317005941/http://www.bpu.cl/presentacion.php?pos=2 |title=Bulnes, Pellegrini & Urrutia |website=BPU |language=es |access-date=17 March 2010 }}</ref>
== Political career == [[File:Juramento de Felipe Bulnes como ministro de Educación.jpg|220px|thumb|left|Felipe Bulnes taking the oath of office as Minister of Education before President Sebastián Piñera.]]
He was a member of his party’s Political Commission, coordinator of the Civil Justice Commission, and a member of the Public Security Commission of the so-called Tantauco group.<ref name="cooperativa" />
In February 2010, President-elect Sebastián Piñera nominated him as Minister of Justice, a position he assumed on 11 March 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2013/05/06/felipe-bulnes-sera-el-agente-de-chile-ante-demanda-de-bolivia-ante-la-haya/ |title=Felipe Bulnes será el agente de Chile ante demanda de Bolivia ante La Haya |website=El Mostrador |language=es |date=6 May 2013 |access-date=4 February 2022 }}</ref> During his first year in office, he faced the aftermath of the San Miguel prison fire, which resulted in more than 80 inmate deaths and became the deadliest prison tragedy in Chilean history.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lanacion.cl/incendio-en-carcel-de-san-miguel-83-reos-muertos/noticias/2010-12-08/102243.html |title=Incendio en cárcel de San Miguel |website=La Nación |language=es |date=8 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2010/12/08/incendio-en-carcel-de-san-miguel-deja-81-muertos/ |title=El incendio en San Miguel deja 81 muertos |website=El Mostrador |language=es |date=8 December 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=En San Miguel hubo 81 reos muertos |work=El Mercurio |language=es |date=9 December 2010 |page=C1–C14 }}</ref>
On 18 July 2011, he left the Ministry of Justice to assume office as Minister of Education.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2011/07/18/pinera-blinda-a-hinzpeter-y-no-se-doblega-ante-presiones-de-la-udi/ |title=Piñera blinda Hinzpeter |website=El Mostrador |language=es |date=18 July 2011 }}</ref> He took office amid the 2011–2013 Chilean student protests, which demanded reforms to the education system.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718212444/http://latercera.com/noticia/nacional/2011/07/680-380441-9-felipe-bulnes-asume-en-educacion-y-se-muestra-dispuesto-a-abrir-el-dialogo.shtml |title=Bulnes asume en Educación |work=La Tercera |language=es |accessdate=18 July 2011 }}</ref> The political strain associated with the crisis ultimately led to his resignation on 29 December 2011, after which he was succeeded by Harald Beyer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2011/12/29/519294/gobierno-y-nuevo-ministro-de-educacion.html |title=Nuevo ministro de Educación |website=Emol |language=es |date=29 December 2011 }}</ref>
On 6 May 2013, he was appointed Chile’s agent before the International Court of Justice in response to Bolivia’s claim seeking sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112442/http://diario.latercera.com/2013/05/07/01/contenido/pais/31-136165-9-bulnes-asume-como-agente-en-la-haya-por-demanda-boliviana.shtml |title=Bulnes asume como agente en La Haya por demanda boliviana |work=La Tercera |language=es |accessdate=2 April 2015 }}</ref>
In March 2014, President Michelle Bachelet confirmed him in that role prior to the start of her second administration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emol.com/noticias/nacional/2014/03/04/647807/felipe-bulnes-confirmado.html |title=Bachelet confirma a Felipe Bulnes como agente chileno ante demanda boliviana en La Haya |website=Emol |language=es |date=4 March 2014 }}</ref> On 23 November 2015, he resigned as Chile’s agent before The Hague and was replaced by José Miguel Insulza.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soychile.cl/Santiago/Politica/2015/11/23/359836/Felipe-Bulnes-renuncio-a-ser-agente-en-La-Haya.aspx |title=Felipe Bulnes renunció a ser agente en La Haya y José Miguel Insulza lo reemplazará |website=SoyChile |language=es |date=23 November 2015 }}</ref>
He ceased serving as ambassador to the US in April 2014 and was succeeded by Juan Gabriel Valdés.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/relaciones-exteriores/ee-uu/presidenta-bachelet-designo-a-juan-gabriel-valdes-como-embajador-en-ee-uu/2014-04-11/185835.html |title=Presidenta Bachelet designó a Juan Gabriel Valdés como embajador en EE.UU. |website=Cooperativa |language=es |date=11 April 2014 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == *[https://web.archive.org/web/20130515101509/http://www.gob.cl/ministros/educacion/ Felipe Bulnes Serrano], Gobierno de Chile.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulnes, Felipe}} Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Ministers of education of Chile Category:Ambassadors of Chile to the United States Category:Politicians from Santiago, Chile Category:Pontifical Catholic University of Chile alumni Category:National Renewal (Chile) politicians Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:20th-century Chilean lawyers Category:21st-century Chilean lawyers Category:Sebastián Piñera cabinet ministers Category:Bulnes family