

TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Chile (Spanish:Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores) is thecabinet-level administrative office in charge of planning, directing, coordinating, executing, controlling and informing the foreign policy formulated by thePresident of Chile. It is located in theEdificio José Miguel Carrera atPlaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square), in downtown Santiago.
The present minister of foreign affairs (who is also known colloquially asChancellor) isAlberto van Klaveren.
The office was first organized in 1812, during theWar of Independence, under the name ofForeign Affairs Secretariat. It was abolished in 1814, after theBattle of Rancagua, when the Spanish government was re-established.
In 1818, after independence, the secretariat was re-established, but this time as a dependency of theMinistry of the Interior, which at that time was named "Ministry of Government and Foreign Affairs" (1818–1824) or "Ministry of the Interior and Foreign Affairs" (1824–1871). In 1871 is established as a separate government entity.
Since its current creation in 1871, it has undergone different reorganizations, reflected in its different names:
| Picture | Name | Entered office | Exited office | Notes | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adolfo Ibáñez Gutiérrez | 1871 | 1875 | Federico Errázuriz Zañartu | ||
| Enrique Cood Ross | 1875 | 1876 | |||
| José Alfonso Cavada | 1876 | 1878 | Aníbal Pinto | ||
| Alejandro Fierro Pérez | 1878 | 1879 | |||
| Domingo Santa María González | 1879 | 1879 | |||
| Miguel Luis Amunátegui Aldunate | 1879 | 1880 | |||
| Melquiades Valderrama Sáenz de la Peña | 1880 | 1881 | |||
| José Manuel Balmaceda Fernández | 1881 | 1882 | Domingo Santa María | ||
| Luis Aldunate Carrera | 1882 | 1884 | |||
| Aniceto Vergara Albano | 1884 | 1885 | |||
| Aníbal Zañartu Zañartu | 1885 | 1886 | |||
| Joaquín Godoy Cruz | 1886 | 1886 | José Manuel Balmaceda | ||
| Francisco Freire Caldera | 1886 | 1887 |
| Picture | Name | Entered office | Exited office | Notes | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miguel Luis Amunátegui Aldunate | 1887 | 1888 | José Manuel Balmaceda | ||
| Augusto Matte Pérez | 1888 | 1888 | |||
| Marcial Demetrio Lastarria | 1888 | 1889 | |||
| Mariano Sánchez Fontecilla | 1889 | 1889 | |||
| Eduardo Matte Pérez | 1889 | 1890 | |||
| Juan Castellón Larenas | 1890 | 1890 | |||
| Juan Eduardo Mackenna Astorga | 1890 | 1890 | |||
| José Tocornal Jordán | 1890 | 1891 | |||
| Domingo Godoy Cruz | 1891 | 1891 | |||
| Ricardo Cruzat Hurtado | 1891 | 1891 | |||
| Manuel María Aldunate Solar | 1891 | 29 August 1891 | |||
| Manuel Antonio Matta Goyenechea | 7 September 1891 | 26 December 1891 | Revolutionary Junta of Iquique | ||
| Luis Pereira Cotapos | 26 December 1891 | 1892 | Jorge Montt | ||
| Juan Castellón Larenas | 1892 | 1892 | |||
| Isidoro Errázuriz Errázuriz | 1892 | 1893 | |||
| Ventura Blanco Viel | 1893 | 1894 | |||
| Mariano Sánchez Fontecilla | 1894 | 1894 | |||
| Luis Barros Borgoño | 1894 | 1895 | |||
| Claudio Matte Pérez | 1895 | 1895 | |||
| Adolfo Guerrero Vergara | 1895 | 18 September 1896 |
| Picture | Name | Entered office | Exited office | Notes | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Aldunate Solar | 12 September 1924 | 23 January 1925 | September Junta | ||
| Jorge Matte Gormaz | 29 January 1925 | 13 October 1925 | January Junta | ||
| Ernesto Barros Jarpa | 13 October 1925 | 23 December 1925 | Luis Barros Borgoño | ||
| Beltrán Mathieu Andrews | 23 December 1925 | 2 August 1926 | Emiliano Figueroa | ||
| Antonio Huneeus Gana | 2 August 1926 | 20 November 1926 | |||
| Jorge Matte Gormaz | 20 November 1926 | 22 February 1927 | |||
| Conrado Ríos Gallardo | 22 February 1927 | 3 September 1929 |
| Picture | Name | Entered office | Exited office | Notes | Appointed by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manuel Barros Castañón | 3 September 1929 | 27 April 1931 | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo | ||
| Antonio Planet Cordero | 27 April 1931 | 13 July 1931 | |||
| Carlos Aldunate Errázuriz | 13 July 1931 | 22 July 1931 | |||
| Guillermo Edwards Matte | 22 July 1931 | 23 July 1931 | |||
| Alberto Edwards Vives | 23 July 1931 | 26 July 1931 | |||
| Carlos Balmaceda Saavedra | 26 July 1931 | 3 September 1931 | Appointed by | Pedro Opazo | |
| Reappointed by | Juan Esteban Montero | ||||
| Reappointed by | Manuel Trucco | ||||
| Luis Izquierdo Fredes | 3 September 1931 | 15 November 1931 | |||
| Carlos Balmaceda Saavedra | 15 November 1931 | 5 June 1932 | Juan Esteban Montero | ||
| Luis Barriga Errázuriz | 5 June 1932 | 3 October 1932 | Appointed by | Socialist Junta | |
| Reappointed by | Carlos Dávila | ||||
| Reappointed by | Bartolomé Blanche | ||||
| Jorge Matte Gormaz | 3 October 1932 | 24 December 1932 | Abraham Oyanedel | ||
| Miguel Cruchaga Tocornal | 24 December 1932 | 14 February 1937 | Arturo Alessandri | ||
| Gustavo Ross Santa María | 14 February 1937 | 24 March 1937 | |||
| José Ramón Gutiérrez Allende | 24 March 1937 | 15 September 1938 | |||
| Luis Arteaga García | 15 September 1938 | 24 December 1938 | |||
| Abraham Ortega Aguayo | 24 December 1938 | 8 February 1940 | Pedro Aguirre Cerda | ||
| Cristóbal Sáenz Cerda | 8 February 1940 | 30 July 1940 | |||
| Marcial Mora Miranda | 30 July 1940 | 7 November 1940 | |||
| Manuel Bianchi Gundián | 7 November 1940 | 26 March 1941 | |||
| Luis Alamos Barros | 26 March 1941 | 10 June 1941 | |||
| Juan Bautista Rossetti Colombino | 10 June 1941 | 2 April 1942 |
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