Ministry of Education (Chile)

Logo of the Ministry of Education of Chile

The Ministry of Education (Spanish: Ministerio de Educación, MINEDUC) is the Ministry of State responsible for promoting the development of education at all levels, to assure all people access to basic education, to stimulate scientific and technological research and artistic creation, and the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage of the nation of Chile.

The current Minister of Education, since 16 August 2023, is Nicolás Cataldo.

History

The ministry began in 1837 as part of the Ministry of Justice and Religious Instruction. In those years the ministry was responsible for overseeing educational institutions such as the Instituto Nacional de Chile and Universidad de Chile. Since 1887 it was named Ministry of Justice and Public Instruction.

The Ministry of Education was separated from the Ministry of Justice in 1927, and became responsible for primary education, secondary education, vocational education, libraries, archives and museums.

During the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva, the following institutions were created under Ministry of Education:

Junta Nacional de Auxilio Escolar y Becas/National Board of School Assistance and Scholarships (JUNAEB)
Centro de Perfeccionamiento, Experimentación e Investigaciones Pedagógicas/Center for Improvement, Educational Research and Experimentation (CPEIP)
Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles/National Board of Daycare (JUNJI)

List of ministers of education

Name	Entered Office	Exited Office	Notes	Appointed by
Eduardo Barrios Hudtwalcker	17 November 1927	17 October 1928	Ind	Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
Pablo Ramírez Rodríguez	17 October 1928	11 March 1929	PR
Mariano Navarrete	11 March 1929	5 August 1930	Militar
Bartolomé Blanche Espejo	5 August 1930	26 October 1930	Militar
Alberto Edwards Vives	26 October 1930	28 April 1931	PN
Gustavo Lira Manso	28 April 1931	13 July 1931	Ind
José Manuel Ríos Arias	13 July 1931	22 July 1931	PL
Miguel Letelier Espínola	22 July 1931	23 July 1931	PN
Gustavo Lira Manso	23 July 1931	26 July 1931	PN
Pedro Godoy Pérez	26 July 1931	27 July 1931	Ind	Pedro Opazo
	27 July 1931	20 August 1931		Juan Esteban Montero
	20 August 1931	3 September 1931		Manuel Trucco
Leonardo Guzmán Cortés	3 September 1931	15 November 1931	PR	Manuel Trucco
Santiago Labarca Labarca	15 November 1931	7 April 1932	PR	Juan Esteban Montero
Alfredo Bravo Zamora	7 April 1932	5 June 1932	PR	Juan Esteban Montero
Eugenio González Rojas	5 June 1932	17 June 1932	Ind	Socialist Junta
Carlos Soto Rengifo	17 June 1932	8 July 1932		Socialist Junta
Carlos Soto Rengifo	8 July 1932	1 August 1932		Carlos Dávila
Luis David Cruz Ocampo	1 August 1932	14 September 1932	Ind	Carlos Dávila
Luis David Cruz Ocampo	14 September 1932	4 October 1932	Ind	Bartolomé Blanche
Alberto Coddou Ortiz	4 October 1932	24 December 1932	Ind	Abraham Oyanedel
Domingo Durán Morales	24 December 1932	19 April 1934	PR	Arturo Alessandri
Osvaldo Vial Vial	19 April 1934	26 August 1935	PL
Francisco Garcés Gana	26 August 1935	24 March 1937	PL
Guillermo Correa Fuenzalida	24 March 1937	24 December 1938	PL
Rudecindo Ortega Masson	24 December 1938	8 February 1940	PR	Pedro Aguirre Cerda
Juan Antonio Iribarren Cabezas	8 February 1940	10 June 1941	PR
Raimundo del Río Castillo	10 June 1941	6 October 1941	PL
Ulises Vergara Osses	6 October 1941	10 October 1941	PR
Ulises Vergara Osses	10 October 1941	2 April 1942	PR	Jerónimo Méndez
Oscar Bustos Aburto	2 April 1942	21 October 1942	PR	Juan Antonio Ríos
Benjamín Claro Velasco	21 October 1942	7 June 1943	PR
Enrique Marshall Herrera	7 June 1943	1 September 1943	Ind
Benjamín Claro Velasco	1 September 1943	6 October 1944	PR
Enrique Marshall Herrera	6 October 1944	14 May 1945	Ind
Juan Antonio Iribarren Cabezas	14 May 1945	3 February 1946	PR
Benjamín Claro Velasco	3 February 1946	6 September 1946	PR
Humberto Enríquez Fródden	6 September 1946	3 November 1946	PR	Alfredo Duhalde
Alejandro Ríos Valdivia	3 November 1946	2 August 1947	PR	Gabriel González Videla
Enrique Molina Garmendia	2 August 1947	7 July 1948	Ind
Ulises Vergara Osses	7 July 1948	22 July 1948	PR
Armando Mallet Simonetti	22 July 1948	7 February 1950	PSA
Manuel Rodríguez Valenzuela	7 February 1950	27 February 1950	Ind
Bernardo Leighton Guzmán	27 February 1950	4 February 1952	FN
Eliodoro Domínguez Domínguez	4 February 1952	29 July 1952	PSA
Luis David Cruz Ocampo	29 July 1952	3 November 1952	Ind
María Teresa del Canto Molina	3 November 1952	1 April 1953	PF	Carlos Ibáñez del Campo
Juan Gómez Millas	1 April 1953	14 August 1953	PAL
Oscar Fenner Marín	14 August 1953	14 October 1953	Militar
Eduardo Barrios Hudtwalcker	14 October 1953	5 June 1954	Ind
Oscar Herrera Palacios	5 June 1954	24 March 1955	Ind
Tobías Barros Ortíz	24 March 1955	6 April 1955	Militar
Kaare Olsen Nielsen	6 April 1955	2 June 1955	Militar
Oscar Herrera Palacios	2 June 1955	17 August 1955	Ind
Tobías Barros Ortíz	17 August 1955	18 April 1956	Militar
René Vidal Merino	18 April 1956	27 August 1956	Ind
Francisco Bórquez Jopia	27 August 1956	23 April 1957	Ind
Manuel Quintana Oyarzún	23 April 1957	28 October 1957	Ind
Diego Barros Ortiz	28 October 1957	3 November 1958	Militar
Francisco Cereceda Cisternas	3 November 1958	15 September 1960	PL	Jorge Alessandri
Eduardo Moore Montero	15 September 1960	5 October 1961	PL
Patricio Barros Alemparte	5 October 1961	26 September 1963	PL
Alejandro Garretón Silva	26 September 1963	3 November 1964	Ind
Juan Gómez Millas	3 November 1964	17 February 1968	Ind	Eduardo Frei Montalva
William Thayer Arteaga	17 February 1968	4 March 1968	PDC
Máximo Pacheco Gómez	4 March 1968	3 November 1970	PDC
Mario Astorga Gutiérrez	3 November 1970	28 January 1972	PR	Salvador Allende
Alejandro Ríos Valdivia	28 January 1972	17 June 1972	PR
Aníbal Palma Fourcade	17 June 1972	2 November 1972	PR
Jorge Tapia Valdés	2 November 1972	5 July 1973	PR
Edgardo Enríquez Frodden	5 July 1973	11 September 1973	PR
José Navarro Tobar	12 September 1973	27 September 1973	IND	Augusto Pinochet
Hugo Castro Jiménez	27 September 1973	16 May 1975	IND
Arturo Troncoso Daroch	16 May 1975	3 December 1976	IND
Luis Niemann Núñez	3 December 1976	26 December 1978	IND
Gonzalo Vial Correa	26 December 1978	14 December 1979	IND
Alfredo Prieto Bafalluy	14 December 1979	22 April 1982	IND
Álvaro Arriagada Norambuena	22 April 1982	14 February 1983	IND
Mónica Madariaga	14 February 1983	19 October 1983	IND
Horacio Aránguiz Donoso	19 October 1983	29 July 1985	IND
Sergio Gaete Rojas	29 July 1985	11 July 1987	IND
Juan Antonio Guzmán Molinari	11 July 1987	5 June 1989	IND
René Salamé Martín	5 June 1989	11 March 1990	Militar
Ricardo Lagos	11 March 1990	28 September 1992	PS	Patricio Aylwin
Jorge Arrate	28 September 1992	11 March 1994	PS	Patricio Aylwin
Ernesto Schiefelbein	11 March 1994	20 September 1994	DC	Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle
Sergio Molina	20 September 1994	28 September 1996	PPD
José Pablo Arellano	28 September 1996	11 March 2000	DC
Mariana Aylwin	11 March 2000	3 March 2003	DC	Ricardo Lagos
Sergio Bitar	3 March 2003	14 December 2005	PPD
Marigen Hornkohl	14 December 2005	13 March 2006	DC
Martín Zilic	11 March 2006	14 June 2006	DC	Michelle Bachelet
Yasna Provoste	14 June 2006	17 April 2008	DC
Mónica Jiménez	14 April 2008	13 March 2010	DC
Joaquín Lavín	11 March 2010	18 July 2011	UDI	Sebastián Piñera
Felipe Bulnes	18 July 2011	29 December 2011	RN
Harald Beyer	29 December 2011	22 April 2013	IND
Carolina Schmidt	22 April 2013	11 March 2014	IND
Nicolás Eyzaguirre	11 March 2014	27 June 2015	PPD	Michelle Bachelet
Adriana Delpiano	27 June 2015	11 March 2018	PPD	Michelle Bachelet
Gerardo Varela	11 March 2018	9 August 2018	IND	Sebastián Piñera
Marcela Cubillos	9 August 2018	28 February 2020	UDI
Raúl Figueroa	28 February 2020	11 March 2022	IND
Marco Antonio Ávila	11 March 2022	16 August 2023	Democratic Revolution	Gabriel Boric
Nicolás Cataldo	16 August 2023	Incumbent	Communist Party of Chile	Gabriel Boric