# Ministry of Health (Chile)

The Ministry of Health of Chile (Spanish: Ministerio de Salud de Chile), also known as MINSAL, is the cabinet-level administrative office in charge of planning, directing, coordinating, executing, controlling and informing the public health policies formulated by the President of Chile. Notably, all employees pay 7% of their monthly income to FONASA, the funding branch of the Chilean Ministry of Health.
The current Minister of Health is Ximena Aguilera. The minister has two adjuncts: the Undersecretary of Public Health (Spanish: Subsecretaria de Salud Pública) and the Undersecretary of Assistance Networks (Spanish: Subsecretaria de Redes Asistenciales).

## History

In 1808, the Committee of Vaccines (Spanish: Junta de Vacunas) was founded, and then in 1832 the Board of Directors of Hospitals (Spanish: Junta Directiva de Hospitales) began operations. Both organizations were precursors of what would become the modern institutions of public health. In 1907, a division charged with the administration of public hygiene was created under the Ministry of the Interior (Spanish: Ministerio del Interior). Then on 14 October 1924, this division was made into the cabinet-level Ministry of Hygiene, Social Assistance and Welfare (Spanish: Ministerio de Higiene, Asistencia y Previsión Social), with the same function (Decree No. 44, 1924). In 1927 all the ministries underwent an important restructuring; with these change it became the Ministry of Social Welfare (Spanish: Ministerio de Bienestar Social), and was charged with, as well as the coordination of public health policies, the investigation of the application of laws relating to society, public welfare, and social security.
In 1932, it was once again renamed, becoming the Ministry of Public Health (Spanish: Ministerio de Salubridad Pública), then the Ministry of Public Health, Social Assistance and Welfare (Spanish: Ministerio de Salubridad Pública, Asistencia y Previsión Social) in 1936, and later the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare (Spanish: Ministerio de Salud Pública y Previsión Social) in 1953.
In 1959, the ministry was divided into the Ministry of Public Health (Spanish: Ministerio de Salud Pública), the modern form of the ministry, and, assuming the functions regulating the welfare of Chileans, the Ministry of Work and Social Welfare (Spanish: Ministerio del Trabajo y Previsión Social).
Finally, from 1973 to 1979, the internal structure of the ministry, now simply the Ministry of Health, was reorganized, creating services such as the National Health Fund (Spanish: Fondo Nacional de Salud), or FONASA.

### Organization

Currently under the Ministry are the following public institutions:
* Fondo Nacional de Salud (Spanish: Fondo Nacional de Salud, FONASA)
* Public Health Institute of Chile (Spanish: Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile, ISP)
* Center for Supply (Spanish: Central de Abastecimiento, CENABAST)
* The Health Services in each region of the country are charges with the coordination, management, and development of the assistance networks and execution of the ministry's action.

## Titulars
### Ministers of Hygiene, Social Assistance and Welfare

| Name | Entered Office | Exited Office | Notes | Appointed by |
| Alejandro del Río Soto-Aguilar | 17 October 1924 | 23 January 1925 | | September Junta |
| José Santos Salas Morales | 29 January 1925 | 10 October 1925 | Appointed by | January Junta |
| José Santos Salas Morales | 29 January 1925 | 10 October 1925 | Reappointed by | Luis Barros Borgoño |
| Pedro Lautaro Ferrer Rodríguez | 10 October 1925 | 23 December 1925 | | Luis Barros Borgoño |
| Lucio Córdoba Labarca | 23 December 1925 | 20 November 1926 | | Emiliano Figueroa |
| Manuel Rivas Vicuña | 20 November 1926 | 22 February 1927 | Minister of the Interior | Emiliano Figueroa |
| Isaac Hevia Concha | 22 February 1927 | 23 May 1927 | | Emiliano Figueroa |
| José Santos Salas Morales | 23 May 1927 | 17 November 1927 | | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |

### Ministers of Social Welfare

| Name | Entered Office | Exited Office | Notes | Appointed by |
| Enrique Balmaceda Toro | 17 November 1927 | 20 April 1928 | Interim | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Alejandro Lazo | 20 April 1928 | 6 June 1928 | | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Luis Schmidt | 6 June 1928 | 21 June 1928 | Interim | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Luis Carvajal Laurnaga | 21 June 1928 | 5 August 1930 | | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Humberto Arce | 5 August 1930 | 5 September 1930 | | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Ricardo Puelma Laval | 5 September 1930 | 13 July 1931 | | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Juan Esteban Montero Rodríguez | 13 July 1931 | 22 July 1931 | Minister of the Interior and Social Welfare | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Héctor Boccardo Benvenuto | 22 July 1931 | 22 July 1931 | | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Sótero del Río Gundián | 26 July 1931 | 3 September 1931 | Appointed by | Pedro Opazo |
| Sótero del Río Gundián | 26 July 1931 | 3 September 1931 | Reappointed by | Juan Esteban Montero |
| Santiago Wilson Barrientos | 3 September 1931 | 15 November 1931 | | Manuel Trucco |
| Sótero del Río Gundián | 15 November 1931 | 4 June 1932 | | Juan Esteban Montero |

### Ministers of Public Health (First Creation)

| Name | Entered Office | Exited Office | Notes | Appointed by |
| Oscar Cifuentes Solar | 5 June 1932 | 17 June 1932 | Appointed by | Socialist Junta |
| Oscar Cifuentes Solar | 5 June 1932 | 17 June 1932 | Reappointed by | Carlos Dávila |
| Alfonso Quijano Olivares | 17 June 1932 | 4 October 1932 | | Carlos Dávila |
| Javier Castro Oliveira | 4 October 1932 | 24 December 1932 | | Abraham Oyanedel |
| Horacio Hevia Labbé | 24 December 1932 | 7 May 1933 | Minister of the Interior and Public Health | Arturo Alessandri |
| Alfredo Piwonka Jilabert | 7 May 1933 | 19 April 1934 | Minister of the Interior and Public Health | Arturo Alessandri |
| Luis Salas Romo | 19 April 1934 | 26 August 1935 | Minister of the Interior and Public Health | Arturo Alessandri |
| Javier Castro Oliveira | 26 August 1935 | 15 January 1937 | | Arturo Alessandri |

### Ministers of Public Health, Social Assistance and Welfare

| Name | Entered Office | Exited Office | Appointed by |
| Eduardo Cruz-Coke Lassabe | 15 January 1937 | 15 September 1938 | Arturo Alessandri |
| Luis Prúnes Rissetti | 15 September 1938 | 24 December 1938 | Arturo Alessandri |
| Miguel Etchebarne Rioll | 24 December 1938 | 25 December 1939 | Pedro Aguirre Cerda |
| Salvador Allende Gossens | 25 December 1939 | 2 April 1942 | Pedro Aguirre Cerda |
| Eduardo Escudero Forrastal | 2 April 1942 | 15 August 1942 | Juan Antonio Rios |
| Miguel Etchebarne Rioll | 15 August 1942 | 4 February 1943 | Juan Antonio Rios |
| Jerónimo Méndez Arancibia | 4 February 1943 | 7 June 1943 | Juan Antonio Rios |
| Sótero del Río Gundián | 7 June 1943 | 3 February 1946 | Juan Antonio Rios |
| Juan Garafulic Dubracic | 3 February 1946 | 6 September 1946 | Juan Antonio Rios |
| René García Valenzuela | 6 September 1946 | 3 November 1946 | Juan Antonio Rios |
| Fernando Claro Salas | 3 November 1946 | 16 April 1947 | Gabriel González Videla |
| Manuel Sanhueza Morales | 16 April 1947 | 2 August 1947 | Gabriel González Videla |
| José Santos Salas Morales | 2 August 1947 | 7 July 1948 | Gabriel González Videla |
| Guillermo Varas Contreras | 7 July 1948 | 7 February 1950 | Gabriel González Videla |
| Manuel Aguirre Geisse | 7 February 1950 | 27 February 1950 | Gabriel González Videla |
| Jorge Mardones Restat | 27 February 1950 | 22 July 1952 | Gabriel González Videla |
| Sótero del Río Gundián | 22 July 1952 | 3 November 1952 | Gabriel González Videla |
| Waldemar Coutts Billiviller | 3 November 1952 | 1 April 1953 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |

### Ministers of Public Health and Social Welfare

| Name | Entered Office | Exited Office | Appointed by |
| Eugenio Suárez Orrego | 1 April 1953 | 1 March 1954 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Carlos Vasallo Rojas | 1 March 1954 | 5 June 1954 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Sergio Altamirano Pinto | 5 June 1954 | 6 January 1955 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Jorge Aravena Carrasco | 6 January 1955 | 30 May 1955 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Raúl Barrios Ortiz | 30 May 1955 | 4 July 1956 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Alberto Araya Lampe | 4 July 1956 | 27 August 1956 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Roberto Muñoz Urrutia | 27 August 1956 | 18 July 1957 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Jorge Torreblanca Droguett | 18 July 1957 | 3 November 1958 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Eduardo Gomién Díaz | 3 November 1958 | 29 October 1959 | Jorge Alessandri |

### Ministers of Public Health (Second Creation)

| Name | Entered Office | Exited Office | Appointed by |
| Sótero del Río Gundián | 29 October 1959 | 26 August 1961 | Jorge Alessandri |
| Benjamín Cid Quiroz | 26 August 1961 | 26 September 1963 | Jorge Alessandri |
| Francisco Rojas Villegas | 26 September 1963 | 3 November 1964 | Jorge Alessandri |
| Ramón Valdivieso Delaunay | 3 November 1964 | 3 November 1970 | Eduardo Frei Montalva |
| Oscar Jiménez Pinochet | 3 November 1970 | 14 August 1971 | Salvador Allende |
| Juan Carlos Concha Gutiérrez | 14 August 1971 | 3 November 1972 | Salvador Allende |
| Arturo Jirón Vargas | 3 November 1972 | 28 August 1973 | Salvador Allende |
| Mario Lagos Hernández | 28 August 1973 | 11 September 1973 | Salvador Allende |
| Alberto Spoerer Covarrubias | 12 September 1973 | 11 November 1974 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Francisco Herrera | 12 November 1974 | 7 March 1976 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Fernando Matthei | 8 March 1976 | 23 July 1978 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Carlos Jiménez Vargas | 24 July 1978 | 13 December 1979 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Alejandro Medina Lois | 14 December 1979 | 28 December 1980 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Hernán Rivera Calderón | 29 December 1980 | 9 August 1983 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Winston Chinchón Bunting | 10 August 1983 | 12 August 1986 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Juan Giaconi Gandolfo | 13 August 1986 | 10 March 1990 | Augusto Pinochet |
| Jorge Jiménez | 11 March 1990 | 29 August 1992 | Patricio Aylwin |
| Julio Montt | 30 August 1992 | 10 April 1994 | Patricio Aylwin |
| Carlos Massad | 11 April 1994 | 6 August 1996 | Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle |
| Álex Figueroa | 7 August 1996 | 10 March 2000 | Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle |
| Michelle Bachelet | 11 March 2000 | 6 February 2002 | Ricardo Lagos |
| Osvaldo Artaza | 7 February 2002 | 2 March 2003 | Ricardo Lagos |
| Pedro García Aspillaga | 3 March 2003 | 10 March 2006 | Ricardo Lagos |
| María Soledad Barría | 11 March 2006 | 27 October 2008 | Michelle Bachelet |
| Álvaro Erazo | 28 October 2008 | 10 March 2010 | Michelle Bachelet |
| Jaime Mañalich | 11 March 2010 | 10 March 2014 | Sebastián Piñera |
| Helia Molina | 11 March 2014 | 22 January 2015 | Michelle Bachelet |
| Carmen Castillo Taucher | 23 January 2015 | 11 March 2018 | Michelle Bachelet |
| Emilio Santelices | 11 March 2018 | 12 June 2019 | Sebastián Piñera |
| Jaime Mañalich | 13 June 2019 | 13 June 2020 | Sebastián Piñera |
| Enrique Paris | 13 June 2020 | 11 March 2022 | Sebastián Piñera |
| María Begoña Yarza | 11 March 2022 | 6 September 2022 | Gabriel Boric |
| Ximena Aguilera | 6 September 2022 | Incumbent | Gabriel Boric |