Carolina Tohá

Who is Carolina Tohá?

Carolina Montserrat Tohá Morales is a Chilean politician from the Party for Democracy mayor of Santiago. She is the daughter of Socialist politician, Vice President, and minister of Salvador Allende José Tohá.

Tohá made her debut in politics in 1984 as a leader of the University of Chile student federation. During the presidency of Ricardo Lagos she was Deputy Minister Secretary General of Government. In 1999 she was vice-president of the PPD. In 2001 she was elected to the Chamber of Deputies —Chile's lower chamber of Congress—, representing the Santiago district, and was reelected in 2005. On 12 March 2009 she replaced Francisco Vidal in the Ministry General Secretariat of Government, becoming the first woman to hold that post in the country's history. Her congress seat became vacant, as both positions are incompatible with each other in times of peace; she was replaced by Felipe Harboe. On 14 December 2009 she quit her government post to lead Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle's presidential runoff campaign. In 2010 she was elected president of the PPD. On 28 October 2012 she was elected mayor of Santiago by an absolute majority, ending the right's 12-year rule over a key municipality.