Igor Garafulic Olivares is a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

, academic, and former intendant

Intendant

The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...

 of the Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region

Santiago Metropolitan Region or simply Metropolitan Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago...

 under the 2006 - 2010 administration of president

President of Chile

The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

 Michelle Bachelet

Michelle Bachelet

Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...

.

Education

Son of exiles, during his childhood he lived in Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 and Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. At age fifteen, he returned to Chile, completing his secondary education at the Instituto Nacional

Instituto Nacional

Instituto Nacional , founded on August 10, 1813 by the Chilean patriot José Miguel Carrera , officially Liceo Ex A-0 - Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, is Chile's oldest and most prestigious school...

 (National Institute) in Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...

.

Garafulic then studied business engineering at the University of Chile, earning a mention in economics where he started his political career as a student leader, first in the Radical Party

Radical Party (Chile)

The Radical Party of Chile was a Chilean political party. It was formed in 1863 by a split in the Liberal Party. Not coincidently, it was formed shortly after the organization of the Grand Lodge of Chile, and it has maintained a close relationship with Chilean Freemasonry throughout its life...

 and then the Party for Democracy

Party for Democracy

The Party for Democracy is a political party in Chile; it is social democratic in its political orientation. It was founded in December 1987 by Ricardo Lagos, who aimed at forming a legal social democratic party . The party continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet...

.

Career

His career began as a director for Santiago's National Youth Institute (INJ) in the year 1990 when he entered the Economic Directorate of the Foreign Ministry. He left the department to become an economic adviser on North America. After earning a Master of Science degree from Oxford University, where his thesis was on the implications for Chile of its entry into North American Free Trade Agreement

North American Free Trade Agreement

The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

. Until his appointment as intendant, he served as Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, under the responsibility of representing Chile in the World Trade Organization

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

 (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the Asia-Pacific region...

 (APEC) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...

 (OECD).

Since 1990, he joined the negotiating teams of the free trade agreements (FTAs) that Chile has signed. In 2005, he participated as "Chief Negotiator of the Agricultural Chapter" in the FTA with China and joined the Joint Study Group that evaluated the FTA with Japan. He also participated as a negotiator of the Government of Chile on FTAs with the United States, European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, South Korea and New Zealand, responsibilities turned from the Economic Department of the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture.

In November 2008, Garafulic replaced Álvaro Erazo as the intendant

Intendant

The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...

 of the SRM following Erazo's appointment as the Minister of Health

Ministry of Health (Chile)

The Ministry of Health of 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...

.