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Cristián Larroulet Vignau, a 1992 Institute of the Americas Privatization Fellow, has been appointed Minister of Policy Coordination by Chile's newly elected president, Sebastián Piñera.

Larroulet's government position -- in Spanish "Minister Secretary General of the Presidency" -- is similar in influence to White House chief-of-staff, but it has added power by virtue of having ministerial status.

Until his appointment, Larroulet served simultaneously as the Executive Director of the Instituto Libertad y Desarrollo, a think tank, and Dean of the Universidad del Desarrollo's Economics Department, posts from which he frequently wrote and advised governments about regulation, economic policy, education policy and corporate governance.

His scholarship and public service have been recognized many times, including as Economist of the Year in 2009 by the newspaper El Mercurio.

One of the famed Chilean technocrats known as the "Chicago Boys," Larroulet conceived of and managed the implementation of successful privatizations, including the energy sector, as chief of staff for Minister of Hacienda Hernán Büchi during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet.

Larroulet, his wife Isabel Philippi and their seven children lived in Del Mar while he was in residence at the Institute in 1992, researching and writing his reflections on Chilean privatizations through the 1980s. The Institute's Privatization Program was supported by grants from the Andrew Mellon Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Institute of the Americas founding board member, Edgardo Boeninger, held the title of Minister Secretary General of the Presidency during the administration of Patricio Aylwin and is considered to have been one of the most influential persons to have held the position in the modern history of Chile.

The Institute honors the memory and legacy of Don Edgardo, who passed away on September 13, 2009, after distinguished service as Senator, Rector of the University of Chile and Vice President of the Christian Democratic Party. Boeninger is perhaps best remembered for his role in the creation of the Concertación (literally compromise/agreement) of left-center political parties that has governed Chile for the entire post-Pinochet period.