Dr. Lagos was born in Santiago (Chile) in 1938 and holds an undergraduate degree in Law from Universidad de Chile and a PhD in Economics from Duke University (North Carolina, US). He has served as Professor at the Universidad de Chile, Visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Former William R. Kenan Chair for Latin American Studies, Director of UNC’s School of Political and Administrative Science,  Director of the Economics Institute and Secretary General of said university, and as Secretary General of the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. During the 1980s he played a key role in the fight to reinstate democracy in Chile.

From 1990 to 1992, after the return to democracy, he was named Minister of Education. He encouraged an important reform during his term, focusing primarily on creating equal opportunities to access education while raising the latter’s quality. Between 1994 and 1998, during the Second Concentration Government, he was named Minister of Public Works. In 2000 he became President of Chile, leaving his unique mark on how this role should be fulfilled: Work in the field, proximity to the country’s people and an open-door policy. He served as President until 2006. He has published an extensive variety of work throughout his career.

Awarded: October, 24th 2006