José Antonio Kast

José Antonio Kast
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, District 24 (Santiago)
In office
11 March 2014 – 11 March 2018
Secretary-General of the Independent Democratic Union
In office
30 March 2012 – 10 May 2014
Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, District 30 (Santiago)
In office
11 March 2002 – 11 March 2014
City Councilman of Buin
In office
1996–2000
Personal details
Born (1966-01-18) 18 January 1966
Santiago, Chile
Political party Independent Democrat Union (1996-2016)
Independent (2016-)
Other political
affiliations		 Republican Action
Spouse(s) María Pía Adriasola Barroilhet
Children 5 sons, 4 daughters
Relatives Miguel Kast (brother), Felipe Kast (nephew)
Residence Santiago
Education German School of Santiago
Alma mater Pontifical Catholic University of Chile
Website Official website

José Antonio Kast Rist (born in Santiago, 18 January 1966) is a Chilean lawyer and politician of German heritage who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, representing District 24 of Peñalolén and La Reina. He was a member of the Independent Democrat Union until 2016, and now he is an independent politician.[1] Kast ran for president as an independent candidate in the 2017 election,[2] and since 2018 is the leader of the far-right movement Republican Action (Acción Republicana).[3]

Early years

His parents were Michael Kast Schindele and Olga Rist Hagspiel, German immigrants from Bavaria who after arriving in the 1950s installed a cecina factory and a restaurant. They had 9 children.[4] José Antonio Kast is a brother of the economist, minister and former Governor of the Central Bank, Miguel Kast (1948-1983), and uncle of the Political Evolution senator, Felipe Kast.[5]

Kast studied law at the Catholic University of Chile, where he got his first contact with the Movimiento Gremialista (Guildist Movement).[4] He was a candidate for the Student Federation's (FEUC) presidency.

Political career

José Antonio Kast's campaign logo
Republican Action Movement logo

Between 1996 and 2000 he was a councilman of Buin. In 2001, Kast was chosen as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for District 30 of San Bernardo. He was the Secretary General of the Independent Democratic Union, a party he resigned from to run for president.[6]

On 18 August 2017 he officially registered his independent candidacy with the Electoral Service, presenting 43,461 signatures.[7] He was supported by right-wing, conservative, libertarian, nationalist, pinochetist and retired military groups, among others.[8][9][10] Kast promoted a "less taxes, less government, pro-life"[11], as well as anti-illegal immigration[12] government program. His support of the Military Government led to much controversy during his campaign, especially his proposal to forgive convicts of human rights violations by Pinochet's government who have age-related ilnesses.[11] He got 523,213 votes in the presidential election, representing 7,93% of the total of votes and the 4th place, even though polls only showed a 2%-3% support.[13] In the second round of the election he supported Sebastián Piñera's campaign, which won the election.

In March 2018, during a tour on some Chilean universities, Kast was scheduled to give a talk at the Arturo Prat University in Iquique, but was physically assaulted by protesters opposing his political views.[14]. Kast also claimed "censorship" by the University of Concepción[15] and the Austral University of Chile.[16]

In April 2018, José Antonio Kast revealed the far-right political movement called Republican Action.[3]

Personal life

Kast is married to María Pía Adriasola and has nine children.[17]. He is a Catholic and a member of the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement.[4].

In an interview with the newspaper El Mercurio Pia told what it was like to live with Jose Antonio Kast: "I felt postponed and insignificant in his life. The priest proposed to us to set up couple day on Tuesdays: just as he had meetings with presidents of parties the other days, or with his companions, on Tuesday he did the same with me".

References

  1. ↑ "José Antonio Kast renuncia a la UDI" (in Spanish). La Tercera. May 31, 2016. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. 1 2 "José Antonio Kast lanza su movimiento Acción Republicana "para despertar a la gran mayoría silenciosa"" (in Spanish).
  4. 1 2 3 Ibarra, Valeria (July 31, 2011). "Historia del clan Kast mezcla negocios, política y religión" (in Spanish). El Mercurio. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
  5. ↑ "¿José Antonio o Felipe?: "Es lo que nos preguntamos en los almuerzos familiares"" (in Spanish). La Segunda. April 7, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  6. ↑ Political Handbook of the World 2015 at Google Books
  7. ↑ "Servicio Electoral vive jornada de formalización de pacto y declaraciones de candidaturas – Servicio Electoral de Chile". www.servel.cl (in Spanish).
  8. ↑ "José Antonio Kast: "Yo sí defiendo con orgullo la obra del gobierno militar"" (in Spanish). The Clinic. August 11, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Out From the Shadow of Pinochet: A Guide to Chile's Election". Bloomberg News. July 7, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  10. ↑ Jiménez, Marcela. "Kast y la irrupción de la ultraderecha: avanza el ejército en las sombras". El Mostrador (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  11. 1 2 Montes, Rocío (2017-11-13). "El presidenciable chileno que reivindica a Pinochet". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  12. ↑ "José Antonio Kast: No queremos que otros se aprovechen y vengan pensando que van a salvar sus vidas" (in Spanish). 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  13. ↑ "Una sorpresa llamada Kast - Revista Qué Pasa". Revista Qué Pasa (in Spanish). 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  14. ↑ "José Antonio Kast por agresión en Iquique: "No puedo permitir que me caricaturicen"".
  15. ↑ "J.A. Kast invoca Ley Zamudio contra Universidad de Concepción por no poder realizar una charla a estudiantes".
  16. ↑ "Organizadores cancelan charla de J.A. Kast en la Universidad Austral: Ex diputado acusa censura por amenazas de grupos de izquierda".
  17. ↑ "Un día con Pía Adriasola, esposa de J.A. Kast: "Dios me compensó por tener menos marido con 9 hijos"" (in Spanish). El Dínamo. August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
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