Chilean President announces cabinet reshuffle with change of leadership at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The cabinet reshuffle comes days after a tax reform package, crucial to Boric's agenda of expanding social rights, was shelved by Congress.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who has struggled with low approval ratings since taking office a year ago, announced a major cabinet reshuffle on Friday, including replacing the country's foreign minister.
Alberto van Klaveren, who served as Chile's ambassador to the European Union from 2001 to 2006 and as the country's undersecretary of foreign affairs from 2006 to 2009 under former President Michelle Bachelet, will replace Antonia Urrejola as the country's foreign minister.
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Boric also appointed new ministers for the portfolios of Public Works, Culture, Sports and Science, and changed the undersecretaries of several ministries, including Finance, Transport and Agriculture.
"We are entering our second year in office and, after careful consideration, I have decided to make changes to my cabinet," Boric said at a press conference at the La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, on the eve of completing his first year in power.
"What motivates me to make these changes is not political pressure or small victories; the goal of these changes is to improve our ability to respond to the challenges our country faces."
Boric's low approval ratings reached just 25% at the end of January, before rising back to 35% at the beginning of March.
Friday's cabinet reshuffle comes days after a tax reform package, crucial to Boric's ambitious agenda of expanding social rights, was shelved by Congress on Wednesday.