The Diplomat
The former president of Chile and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has taken over from Laura Chinchilla as vice president of the Club de Madrid, the largest world forum of former democratic presidents and prime ministers.
Bachelet was unanimously elected on April 3 for one of the two vice-presidencies of the Club de Madrid. After two terms as vice president, former Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla leaves office, but will remain as a counselor. “The election of Bachelet will ensure that the Global South and the Latin American region continue to be well represented,” the Club de Madrid stated in a press release. The other vice presidency will remain in the hands of Han Seung-soo, who was prime minister of South Korea between 2008 and 2009.
Bachelet has been actively involved in the organization since she left her post at the United Nations. She led discussions at the 2023 Political Dialogue held by the Club de Madrid in Brazil, in which she met with President Lula da Silva to advance the organization’s priorities. She was also the organization’s keynote speaker for Women’s Day 2023.
The Club de Madrid currently has 124 members with the recent incorporation of Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland from 2018 to 2023 and who, during her term, successfully negotiated the entry of her country into NATO.
