Diego Paulsen


Diego Alfredo Paulsen Kehr is a Chilean politician currently serving as President of the Chamber of Deputies and as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, representing District 22 of Araucanía.
He is the youngest person to hold the position of President of the Chamber of Deputies, being elected in April 2020 at the age of 32. As President of the Chamber of Deputies, Paulsen is third in the presidential line of succession, after the Minister of the Interior and Public Security and the President of the Senate.
Paulsen was first elected to Congress in 2013 representing District 49 of Araucanía and then reelected in 2017 representing the newly created District 22. He is a member of the liberal conservative National Renewal Party.

Early life and education

Paulsen was born in Temuco to a family of German descent. He graduated from Adolfo Ibáñez University with a law degree and earned a postgraduate diploma in law and parliamentary administration at the Pontifical Catholic University of Valparaíso.

Career

Paulsen worked as a legal consultant for various businesses from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, he began working as a consultant for National Renewal's parliamentary committe. The following year, Paulsen won the primaries and became a congressional candidate for the 49th district of the Araucanía Region. Paulsen was elected with 26.26% of the votes and began his term as a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 2014.
Paulsen presided an investigative commission regarding the University of Art & Social Sciences and its accreditation process. He was also part of an investigative commission regarding public spending on primary health care and hospital infrastructure.
In 2017, he was reelected to the Chamber of the Deputies representing the 22nd district of the Araucanía Region.

Political positions

Abortion

Paulsen is against abortion. In 2017, he voted against a bill that sought to legalize abortion under special circumstances.

Death penalty

In 2016, Paulsen voted in favor of a bill that attempted to reinstate the death penalty in Chile. The bill was rejected in the Chamber of Deputies with 111 votes against and 13 votes in favor.

Same-sex marriage

In a 2014 interview with The Clinic, Paulsen stated that he was against same-sex marriage but in favor of civil unions.

Electoral history

2013 Parliamentary Elections

CandidateListPartyVotes%Result
Fuad ChahínNew MajorityDC26 58643.69Deputy
Diego Paulsen'''AllianceRN15 98126.26Deputy
Marcelo SeguraNew MajorityPPD914115.02
Enrique EstayAllianceUDI673811.07
Marcelino CollioIf You Want It, Chile ChangesIND13492.21
Gloria MujicaHumanist PartyPH10501.72

2017 Parliamentary Elections

CandidateListPartyVotes%Result
Diego Paulsen'''Chile VamosRN24 38522.6Deputy
Jorge RathgebChile VamosRN21 46819.9Deputy
Mario VenegasDemocratic ConvergenceDC14 97813.9Deputy
Andrea ParraNew MajorityPPD10 3109.5Deputy
Guillermo JaramilloNew MajorityPPD75587.0
Gregorio de la MazaChile VamosUDI68696.4
Rayén InglesDemocratic ConvergenceDC47514.4
Evaristo CuricalBroad FrontPH44044.1

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