Diego Paulsen

Diego Paulsen
Official portrait, 2018
Ambassador of Chile to the United Kingdom
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 June 2026
PresidentJosé Antonio Kast
Preceded byXimena Fuentes
President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile
In office
7 April 2020 – 11 March 2022
Vice PresidentFrancisco Undurraga
Rodrigo González Torres
Preceded byIván Flores
Succeeded byRaúl Soto
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile
In office
11 March 2018 – 11 March 2022
Preceded byDistrict established
ConstituencyDistrict 22
In office
11 March 2014 – 11 March 2018
Preceded byEnrique Estay
Succeeded byDistrict dissolved
ConstituencyDistrict 49 of Araucanía
Personal details
Born (1987-08-01) 1 August 1987
Temuco, Chile
PartyNational Renewal
SpouseMaría Valentina García
Children2
Alma materAdolfo Ibáñez University
Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso (PgD)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer
Signature

Diego Alfredo Paulsen Kehr (born 1 August 1987) is a Chilean lawyer and National Renewal politician who serves as ambassador of Chile to the United Kingdom since June 2026.

Paulsen served as a deputy from 2014 to 2022, representing the former District 49 during his first term, and District 22 during his second term, both in the Araucanía Region. From 2020 to 2022, he also served as President of the Chamber of Deputies, the youngest person in the Chamber's history to hold the position.

Early life and education

Paulsen was born on 1 August 1987 in Temuco,[1] to a family of Danish and German descent. He graduated from Adolfo Ibáñez University as lawyer and earned a postgraduate diploma in law and parliamentary administration at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso.[1]

Career

Paulsen worked as a legal consultant for various businesses from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, he began working as a consultant for National Renewal's parliamentary committee. The following year, Paulsen won the primaries and became a congressional candidate for the 49th district of the Araucanía Region. Paulsen was elected with 26.26% of the votes and began his term as a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 2014.

Paulsen presided an investigative commission regarding the University of Art & Social Sciences (ARCIS) and its accreditation process.[2] He was also part of an investigative commission regarding public spending on primary health care and hospital infrastructure.[3]

In 2017, he was reelected to the Chamber of the Deputies representing District 22 of the Araucanía Region. On 7 April 2020, Paulsen became the youngest person to serve as President of the Chamber of Deputies, at the age of 32, and held the position until the end of his term as a deputy in 2022.[4][5][6]

On 26 June 2026 he was appointed as ambassador of Chile to the United Kingdom by President José Antonio Kast.[7]

Political positions

Abortion

Paulsen is against abortion. In 2017, he voted against a bill that sought to legalize abortion under special circumstances.[8]

Death penalty

In 2016, Paulsen voted in favor of a bill that attempted to reinstate the death penalty in Chile. The bill was rejected in the Chamber of Deputies with 111 votes against and 13 votes in favor.[9]

Same-sex marriage

In a 2014 interview with The Clinic, Paulsen stated that he was against same-sex marriage but in favor of civil unions.[10]

Electoral history

2013 Parliamentary Elections

Candidate List Party Votes % Result
Fuad Chahín New Majority DC 26 586 43.69 Deputy
Diego Paulsen Alliance RN 15 981 26.26 Deputy
Marcelo Segura New Majority PPD 9141 15.02
Enrique Estay Alliance UDI 6738 11.07
Marcelino Collio If You Want It, Chile Changes IND 1349 2.21
Gloria Mujica Humanist Party PH 1050 1.72

2017 Parliamentary Elections

Candidate List Party Votes % Result
Diego Paulsen Chile Vamos RN 24 385 22.6 Deputy
Jorge Rathgeb Chile Vamos RN 21 468 19.9 Deputy
Mario Venegas Democratic Convergence DC 14 978 13.9 Deputy
Andrea Parra New Majority PPD 10 310 9.5 Deputy
Guillermo Jaramillo New Majority PPD 7558 7.0
Gregorio de la Maza Chile Vamos UDI 6869 6.4
Rayén Ingles Democratic Convergence DC 4751 4.4
Evaristo Curical Broad Front PH 4404 4.1

References

  1. 1 2 "Diego Alfredo Paulsen Kehr. Reseñas biográficas parlamentarias". Library of the National Congress of Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Comisión Investigadora de Universidad Arcis despachó informe a la Sala". www.camara.cl/. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Investigadora del estado actual de la inversión pública en infraestructura de la red de atención primaria y hospitalaria". www.camara.cl/. 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Diputado Diego Paulsen asume como nuevo presidente de la Cámara de Diputados". araucanianoticias.cl. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Amante del campo, deportista y alegre: Diego Paulsen, el inesperado nuevo pdte. de la Cámara que tiene 32 años". www.chvnoticias.cl. 8 April 2020. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "Diego Paulsen, nuevo líder de la Cámara: "El Presidente Piñera ha tenido algunos errores en el tono y en la forma en que se ha dirigido al Congreso"". La Tercera. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Presidente José Antonio Kast designa nuevos embajadores de Chile en Reino Unido, Cuba y El Salvador". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile (in Spanish). 26 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Despenalización de aborto a comisión mixta: Así votaron los diputados". www.t13.cl/. 20 July 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "Rechazo rotundo a la pena de muerte en la Cámara de Diputados: 13 a favor y 111 en contra". www.cnnchile.com/. 7 August 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  10. ↑ Toro Agurto, Ivonne (3 July 2014). "Diego Paulsen, el RN que va a dar el voto para legislar sobre el aborto aunque se define como "un conservador"". The Clinic (in Spanish). Santiago, Chile. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Elecciones Parlamentarias: Resultados Elección de Diputados". www.servel.cl/. 2013. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Resultados elecciones 2017". www.emol.com/. 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
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