Which party was Ricardo Lagos a member of before Mar 1959?
Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar ( ; born 2 March 1938 ) is a Chilean lawyer , economist and social-democratic politician who served as President of Chile from 2000 to 2006 . He won the 1999-2000 presidential election by a narrow margin in a runoff over Independent Democrat Union ( UDI ) candidate Joaquín Lavín . Lagos was the third president from the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy to have ruled Chile since 1990 . He was succeeded on March 11 , 2006 by Socialist Michelle Bachelet , from the same coalition . Since May 2007 he has served as a Special Envoy on Climate Change for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon . Early years . Lagos was born in Santiago , Chile . He was the only child of Froilán Lagos Sepúlveda ( a farmer who died when his son was eight years old ) and Emma Escobar Morales ( who died in 2005 ) . He attended primary school at Liceo Experimental Manuel de Salas and high school at the prestigious Instituto Nacional . In 1961 , Lagos married Carmen Weber , with whom he had two children , Ricardo and Ximena . In 1969 , he met Luisa Durán and they married in 1971 . The couple shared the parenting of the children of Lagos first marriage , the children of Duráns first marriage , Hernán and Alejandro , and their only child together , Francisca . While in university Ricardo Lagos attended the lectures of historian Jaime Eyzaguirre whom he held in high esteem . Academic and diplomatic career . After obtaining his law degree from the University of Chile in 1960 , Lagos pursued a Ph.D . in Economics from Duke University , which he completed in 1966 . During that time he became a visiting professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the political science department until 1965 . After his time in North Carolina , he kept ties with both universities . On his return to Chile , he was employed at the Institute of Economy of the University of Chile , directed by Carlos Massad . In 1967 , he was named Director of the School of Political and Administrative Sciences , a position he held until 1973 , when he became Secretary General of the University of Chile . Lagos subsequently began work as a professor of economics in the School of Law of the University , and between 1971 and 1972 he was Director of the Institute of Economy . He was later named Director of the Latin American Council of Social Sciences . During the 1970s , Lagos declared himself an independent of the left and abandoned the Radical Party of Chile , which he had joined in 1961 , when this party supported Jorge Alessandris government . Although he did not possess great diplomatic experience , he worked with Hernán Santa Cruz as an ambassador to the United Nations , where he presented an outstanding speech on the international financial crisis . During the speech , he strongly criticized the decision of U.S . President Richard Nixon on the nonconvertibility of the U.S . dollar into gold , a measurement that would end in the rounding up the Asian crisis . In 1972 , President Salvador Allende appointed Lagos as the Chilean Ambassador to the Soviet Union in Moscow , but the appointment was never ratified by Congress . As a Regional Director of the training program of post graduate studies in social sciences , he was later put in charge of Project UNESCO , of the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) in Buenos Aires . As a public servant he also served Chile as a United Nations delegate with rank of ambassador at the 26th United Nations General Assembly . In addition , he was a delegate to the UNs 3rd Conference of Commerce and Development ( United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ) . Soon after the 1973 coup détat , he and his family were sent into exile in Buenos Aires , Argentina , where he took the position of Secretary General of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences ( FLACSO ) . He moved for a year to the United States , where he became visiting professor of the William R . Kenan chair for Latin American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . In 1975 , he worked as a consultant for the United Nations Development Programme . Lagos returned to Chile in 1978 , and worked for the Regional Program of Employment of the United Nations , PREALC . During the implementation of policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund his mission was to advise all the governments in the South American continent on the matter of employment . Political career . During the 1980s , Lagos assumed a fundamental role in the fight for the recovery of democracy . In addition to being one of the leaders of the Socialist Party of Chile , he became President of the Democratic Alliance , a force that grouped the majority of the democratic parties opposing the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet . In 1983 , he decided to leave his position as international civil employee in the United Nations . In December of that year , he became president of the Democratic Alliance . In 1987 , as the president of the Committee of the Left for Free Elections , he called on all citizens and parties to enroll in the electoral registries to vote no in a 1988 national plebiscite on whether Pinochet should be allowed to remain president of Chile . Lagos became the undisputed leader of Pinochets opponents after appearing in Canal 13s first political debate show since the 1973 coup détat , De cara al país ( towards the country ) , where he stated ; With the triumph of No , the country will prevent General Pinochet from being 25 years in power , it will mark the start of the end of the dictatorship . Lagos then looked directly into the camera and accusingly raised his index finger to say directly to all viewers : To this day , in Chile the phrase Lagos finger refers to this memorable event ; on that night , many people were convinced that the man would not survive to see the next day . After the triumph of the No alternative and the subsequent resignation of Pinochet , Lagos declined to be a candidate for the presidency in spite of being the main leader of the opposition . Instead , he supported Patricio Aylwins candidacy and ran for a seat in the Senate for the Santiago-West district . On December 11 , 1989 , the day of the elections , he obtained the districts second majority . Nevertheless , he did not win a seat because his alliances list did not double the vote of the second most voted list ; this being a requisite in the Chilean electoral system created by Pinochet . In 1990 , Lagos was named Minister of Education by President Patricio Aylwin . In this position , he initiated reform aimed at increasing equality in access and improving education levels . In June 1993 , he pushed for the notion of using primary elections in order to select the Concertación coalitions candidate for the following presidential election . He lost this primary to Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle , who went on to become President of Chile . In 1994 , Frei himself named Lagos Minister of Public Works . In this role , he developed an innovating system of road concessions , integrated the private sector in the construction of works and its later operation . During the Frei administration , he continued to be a leader of opinion and was a sure option for the following presidential election . His status was later ratified by his appointment as one of the members of the Committee of Twelve Distinguished Members of the Socialist International , which he shared with such personalities as Felipe González and Gro Harlem Brundtland . This committee was set up to process proposals for the renovation of the social democratic thought for the 21st century . In 1999 , Lagos resigned as minister in order to begin his presidential campaign . In the primaries , he defeated senator Andrés Zaldívar , of the Christian Democratic Party to become the Concertacións sole presidential candidate . In the first round of the presidential election in December of the same year , he defeated right-wing candidate Joaquín Lavín , by only 30,000 votes . Since he failed to obtain an absolute majority , as is required to be elected president , a presidential runoff was subsequently held in January 2000 for the first time ever in Chile . Winning 51.3 percent of the vote , Lagos became the new President of Chile . Presidency . Internal issues . During the first year of his term in office , Lagos had to confront a high level of unemployment , generated by the political instability of the region , in a process that began to revert during the end of 2003 . He also promised to keep the budget deficit in check and interest rates and inflation low . Lagos enjoyed great popular support , bordering on 55% , and ending around 60-70% during the last six months of his term . The policy of proximity with people was pronounced in the opening of the doors of the Palacio de La Moneda , that had remained closed since the 1973 coup détat . Beginning in 2002 , his government had to face suspicions of political corruption due to the prosecution of one of his ministers , Carlos Cruz , and of other civil employees of the Public Works Ministry , in the denominated MOP-GATE case . Gloria Ana Chevesich , the judge in charge of this case , discovered that ministers , undersecretaries and other officials of exclusive confidence of the President , received additional payments to their regular remuneration : the so-called extra payments . This irregularity was acknowledged by Lagos , who specified that the practice had also developed during the governments of Frei Ruiz-Tagle and Aylwin . The official position of the government consisted of not acknowledging the criminal nature of these practices and establishing a legal reform that increased the pay of ministers and undersecretaries of the government , a matter that was approved in its legislative proceeding . Foreign relations . During 2004 , Lagos faced a series of tensions in his relation with other South American countries , caused by recurring Bolivian aspirations for access to the sea . This situation was linked with the power crisis taking place in Argentina , an important supplier of natural gas to Chile . In bilateral meetings between Bolivian President Carlos Mesa and Argentine President Néstor Kirchner , the former agreed to the sale of Bolivian gas to Argentina under the condition that not a single gas molecule be sold to Chile . Additionally , the Venezuelan President , Hugo Chávez , has supported in various instances the Bolivian sea claim , causing a diplomatic impassé between Chile and Venezuela . The tension between both governments had dissipated during July 2004 . Legacy . During Lagos presidency , Free Trade Agreements were signed with the European Community , the United States , South Korea , the Peoples Republic of China and New Zealand , Singapore and Brunei ( though some of his supporters in the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy consider that these agreements may have negative effects on the country ) ; the incidence of extreme poverty was significantly reduced ; the legal workweek was reduced from 48 to 45 hours ; improvements were made in infrastructure and transport ; an unemployment insurance scheme was created ; as well as the AUGE health program guaranteeing coverage for a number of medical conditions ; the Chile Barrio housing program ; the Chile Solidario program ; compulsory schooling was extended to 12 years ; the first divorce law in Chile was approved ; monetary compensation to victims of torture under the Pinochet regime identified in the Valech Report was authorized ; and , recently , a recast constitution was signed . He finished his six-year term with historic approval ratings above 70% . Post-presidential career . Political . On March 24 , 2006 Lagos inaugurated his own foundation called Democracia y Desarrollo ( Democracy and Development ) in Santiago . Three days later he began a two-year term as President of the Club de Madrid— an exclusive organization of former presidents created by a Spanish philanthropist to promote democracy across the world . He also assumed co-chairmanship of the Inter-American Dialogues Board of Directors . On May 2 , 2007 , Lagos , along with Gro Harlem Brundtland and Han Seung-soo , was named by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as a Special Envoy on Climate Change . His appointment was and still is very controversial among Chilean environmental groups who questioned his track record on the matter , claiming that he showed an utter lack of consideration for the environment , promoted policies against environmental sustainability and favored the interests of big economic groups , even defending crimes against nature internationally , favouring large corporations every single time there was a clash between local communities , environmental concerns and perceived economic benefits . On January 14 , 2017 , Lagos accepted the Party for Democracys nomination to run for president in 2017 . However , he withdrew soon after the Party for Democracy , publicly backed Alejandro Guillier . Following this he announced his retirement . Publishing . In early 2007 , Lagos became a member of the editorial board of Americas Quarterly , a policy publication focused on relations and development in the Western Hemisphere . Lagos contributes regularly . Academic . After abandoning power , Lagos taught a one-month special seminar at UC Berkeleys Center for Latin American Studies , called Democracy and Development in Latin America . In May 2007 , Brown University announced that Lagos would take a teaching position at the Watson Institute for International Studies for a period of five years , starting on July 1 , 2007 . In 2013 , Lagos was a visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo assuming the “José Bonifácio Cátedra . Honours and awards . - : Knight Grand Cross decorated with Grand Cordon of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( March 3 , 2000 ) - : Grand Cross ( or 1st Class ) of the Order of the White Double Cross ( 2001 ) - Knight Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav ( For outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and development co-operation between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Chile , February 6 , 2004 ) - : Knight Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic ( June 1 , 2001 ) - : Order of the Athir ( 7 May 2005 ) - : On May 24 , 2018 , he was awarded the Doctor of Laws degree by Harvard University . - Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( 2002 )