Michelle Bachelet is the first Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. Under Ms. Bachelet’s leadership, UN Women leads, supports and coordinates the United Nations’ work on gender equality and the empowerment of women at the global, regional and country level.

Ms. Bachelet most recently served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010. A long-time champion of women’s rights, she has advocated for gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout her career. As President, she invested significantly in pension reform, social protection programmes for women and children, and research and development. During her Presidency, the number of free early child-care centres for low-income families tripled and some 3,500 child-care centres were established around the country.

Ms. Bachelet also held ministerial portfolios in the Chilean Government as Minister of Defence and Minister of Health. As Defence Minister, Ms. Bachelet introduced gender policies intended to improve the conditions of women in the military and police forces. As Minister of Health, she implemented health-care reform, improving attention to primary care facilities with the aim of ensuring better and faster health-care response for families.