José Antonio Kast

His Excellency

José Antonio Kast
Official portrait, 2026
38th President of Chile
Assumed office
11 March 2026
Preceded byGabriel Boric
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
11 March 2002 – 11 March 2018
Preceded byPablo Longueira
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
ConstituencyDistrict 30 (2002–2014)
District 24 (2014–2018)
Member of the Buin City Council
In office
6 December 1996 – 6 December 2000
Personal details
Born
José Antonio Kast Rist

(1966-01-18) 18 January 1966
Santiago, Chile
Political partyIndependent (2016–2019, since 2026)
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1990)​
Children9, including José Antonio Kast Adriasola
ParentsMichael Kast (father)
Relatives
  • Miguel Kast (brother)
  • Pablo, Felipe and Tomás Kast (nephews)
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Chile (LLB)
OccupationPolitician, lawyer
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966) is a Chilean lawyer and politician who has been the 38th and current President of Chile since 2026. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2002 until 2018. He was a member of the Independent Democratic Union until 2016, and independent until 2019.[1] In 2019, he created the Chilean Republican Party.[2][3][4]

Kast ran for president three times: in 2017, 2021 and 2025. In December 2025, Kast was elected as the 38th president of Chile, after he defeated Jeannette Jara in the 2025 December run-off election.

Early life

Kast was born in Santiago, Chile on 18 January 1966 into a German family. His parents were Michael Kast Schindele (1924–2014) and Olga Rist Hagspiel (1924–2015), both originally from Bavaria.[5] Michael Kast was a lieutenant in the German Army during World War II and a member of the Nazi Party.[6][7][8][9] His parents immigrated to Chile in the 1950s.[5]

Kast studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. During his college years, he took part in protests supporting the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.[10][11]

After college, Kast founded a law firm in 1990. He was also the director of a real estate company owned by his family in the 1990s.[12]

Presidential campaigns

Kast ran for president as an independent candidate in the 2017 election.[13] He ran again in the 2021 Chilean general election, advancing to the second round, however lost in the run-off election to Gabriel Boric.[14][15]

In November 2024, the Republican Party confirmed Kast as its candidate for the first round of the 2025 presidential election. In August 2025, Kast officially registered his campaign under the slogan La fuerza del cambio (“The Strength of Change”).[16] Kast would go on to beat Jeannette Jara in the December run-off election.[17]

Presidency (2026–present)

Kast was sworn-in as President of Chile on 11 March 2026.[18][19][20] After a few days of taking office, Kast began deporting many immigrants from Venezuela while also promising to create a border wall between Chile and Peru.[21]

Following his election, Kast said he planned to live at La Moneda Palace, the seat of the presidency in central Santiago. He is the first president to live in La Moneda since Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in the 1950s.[22][23]

During his first week in office, Kast had meetings with the United States about rare-earth mineral mining.[24] He also cut back on environmental regulations.[25]

Personal life

Kast is married to María Pía Adriasola. The couple has nine children.[26]

Views

His political views have been called by some media and scholars as far-right and conservative. His social views and the way his election victory helped conservatives win across Chile in 2025 has been compared with the Reagan era in the United States.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "José Antonio Kast renuncia a la UDI" (in Spanish). La Tercera. May 31, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Partido Republicano en el mapa de la política" (in Spanish). La Tercera. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  3. ↑ "NACIONAL POLÍTICA Partido Republicano: José Antonio Kast inscribe nuevo referente en el Servel". Diario U Chile. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Se lanzó el nuevo Partido Republicano de José Antonio Kast". T13. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  5. 1 2 Frank, Jordans; Joshua, Goodman (8 December 2021). "Father's Nazi past haunts Chilean presidential frontrunner". AP News. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  6. ↑ "Chilean presidential candidate's father was member of Nazi party". Associated Press. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  7. ↑ Ibarra M., Valeria (31 July 2011). "Historia del clan Kast mezcla negocios, política y religión". El Mercurio (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  8. ↑ Salazar Salvo, Manuel (15 June 2019). "El origen del clan de los Kast en Chile". Interferencia (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  9. ↑ "Kast reinvindica a Pinochet y quiere devolver el orden a Chile". France 24. Agence France-Presse. 18 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  10. ↑ Dávila, Mireya (January 2020). "La reemergencia del pinochetismo". Barómetro de política y equidad. 16: 49–69.
  11. ↑ "Video: El día en que José Antonio Kast apoyó a Pinochet en la franja del SÍ". El Desconcierto (in Spanish). 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. ↑ Ojeda G, Juan Manuel (1 September 2019). "La ruta de los dineros de José Antonio Kast". La Tercera.
  13. ↑ "J. A. Kast anuncia inscripción de candidatura presidencial para el 17 de agosto y presenta comando con figuras de la UDI" (in Spanish). Emol. July 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Chile Heads Into Polarized Runoff as Old Party System Wilts". Yahoo. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  15. ↑ Gabriel Boric, a Former Student Activist, Is Elected Chile’s Youngest President
  16. ↑ ""La fuerza del cambio": Qué hay tras el eslogan de campaña que estrenó Kast en Antofagasta" (in Spanish). Ex-Ante. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Conservative Hard-Liner is Elected as Chile's President". New York . December 14, 2025. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
  18. ↑ Wells, Ione (15 December 2025). "Chile elects far-right José Antonio Kast as next president". BBC. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  19. ↑ Rogero, Tiago (14 December 2025). "Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast elected Chile's next president". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  20. ↑ "Chile elects Kast as president, deepening regional shift to law-and-order politics". CNN. 14 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  21. ↑ "Peru's president to declare border state of emergency to prevent entry of undocumented migrants". Reuters. 28 November 2025.
  22. ↑ Viurcos, Sebastian Huerta (14 December 2025). "¿Podrá José Antonio Kast ser el primer presidente de Chile en vivir en La Moneda desde 1958?". Publimetro Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  23. ↑ "José Antonio Kast vivirá en el Palacio de La Moneda: no pasaba desde 1958". 24horas (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 December 2025.
  24. ↑ Cambero, Fabian (12 March 2026). "Chile, US eye collaboration on rare earths and other critical minerals". Reuters. Retrieved 21 March 2026.
  25. ↑ Staff, Al Jazeera. "Chile's President Kast tosses out dozens of environmental protections". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  26. ↑ "Un día con Pía Adriasola, esposa de J.A. Kast: "Dios me compensó por tener menos marido con 9 hijos"" (in Spanish). El Dínamo. 4 August 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  27. ↑ "The Reinvention of the Latin American Right". NACLA Report on the Americas. Taylor & Francis. 2023. Retrieved 10 December 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

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