Alejandro Irarrázaval
Alejandro Irarrázaval | |
|---|---|
 Irarrázaval in 2026 | |
| Head of the Presidential Advisory Staff | |
| Assumed office 2026 | |
| President | José Antonio Kast |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 August 1961 |
| Party | Republican Party |
| Education | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (B.Sc) |
| Profession | Economist |
Alejandro José Irarrázaval Alfonso (born 9 August 1961) is a Chilean politician. He currently serves as an adviser to the President of Chile.
During the presidency of José Antonio Kast, Irarrázaval has served as head of the presidential advisory staff in the so-called Second floor of La Moneda Palace.[1][2][3][4]
Early life and education
Irarrázaval was born on 9 August 1961 in Santiago, Chile. He is the son of agricultural engineer Francisco Javier Irarrázaval Larraín.
Following the expropriation of the Illapel estate during the Popular Unity government, his family emigrated to Argentina, where he spent part of his childhood and adolescence with his eight siblings. He returned to Chile in the 1980s.[3][5]
He is an uncle of Luis Silva Irarrázaval and Sebastián Silva.[6]
Irarrázaval graduated in commercial engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 1986.[3]
During his university years, he served as president of the Economics and Administration student association in 1985. During this period, he met José Antonio Kast, who was studying law at the university.[3]
Political career
During the 1990s, Irarrázaval worked as an executive at Chilegener. He served as general manager of Citroën Chile from 2000 to 2003 and as general manager of the MOK Group from 2005 to 2009. Since 2006, he has been a partner and manager of Agrícola Chacabuco. He has also served on the boards of companies belonging to his family's holding company, including MOK Salud.[3]
His political career began in the 1990s as a member of National Renewal (RN), where he served as a national youth councillor and treasurer. In 1992, he ran for mayor of Quinta Normal, receiving 1.98% of the vote. He later joined the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), where he also served as national treasurer.[5]
In 2016, Irarrázaval resigned from the UDI alongside José Antonio Kast and joined Acción Republicana, a movement that later gave rise to the Republican Party. He accompanied Kast in all three of his presidential campaigns, in 2017, 2021 and 2025. During the 2025 presidential campaign, he served as coordinator of the campaign team, overseeing its various committees, territorial operations and budget.[3][4]
Head of the Second Floor
Following Kast's victory in December 2025, Irarrázaval assumed a central role in the president-elect's office, where he was responsible for designing the structure of the incoming government and recruiting technical professionals for public offices. In 2026, he was appointed head of the presidential advisory staff in the Second Floor of La Moneda Palace.[7]
In April 2026, he became involved in a controversy with the governing parties. Among others, Republican Party president Arturo Squella publicly criticized the performance of the Second Floor advisory team led by Irarrázaval. The criticism focused on what was described as an excessive concentration of power in Irarrázaval's hands and the prioritization of technical over political profiles in appointments to government positions.[7][8]
References
- ↑ Aburto, Néstor (5 May 2026). "Segundo piso: cómo opera el poder invisible que hoy complica a La Moneda". BioBioChile (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ Latorre, Rocío (2 May 2026). "La sigilosa contraofensiva de Alejandro Irarrázaval". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Alejandro Irarrázaval: Quién es el encargado de los reclutamientos para el gobierno de Kast". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). 24 November 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Alejandro Irarrázaval, el hombre que hay que conocer para entender el futuro Gabinete de Kast". El País (in Spanish). 18 January 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Alejandro Irarrázaval, la mano derecha de Kast en su transición a La Moneda". La Tercera (in Spanish). 3 January 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ Vergara, David (16 May 2026). "Subsecretario de Justicia, Luis Silva, despide a su hermano tras su fallecimiento a los 38 años" (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- 1 2 "Cómo Alejandro Irarrázaval se convirtió en el factótum de Kast y su primer encontrón con los partidos". Ex-Ante (in Spanish). 28 April 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ↑ "La fisura que se profundizó entre los hombres de confianza de-kast/". La Tercera (in Spanish). 29 April 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.