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SANTIAGO, June 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Chile President Gabriel Boric announced
Thursday that he had become a father, with his child the first to be born to
a sitting Chilean head of state in almost 100 years.
Boric said he and his partner Paula were "very happy" following the birth of
Violeta Boric Carrasco on Wednesday night at the University of Chile public
hospital in Santiago.
"Violeta is doing well and is healthy," Boric, 39, said outside the hospital.
The left-wing leader spoke of his "deep admiration" for his 31-year-old
partner, Paula Carrasco, an environmental chemist and professional basketball
player.
"Now, when I speak as president, I will also be speaking as a father," he
said with a smile.
Boric is the first Chilean president to have a child outside of marriage.
He will take the five days of parental leave to which Chilean men are
entitled when they become fathers, regardless of their marital status, his
aides told AFP.
Carrasco, who has a son from a previous relationship, works in the
environment ministry.
She and Boric met in October 2023 during the Pan American Games held in
Chile.
She is the president's second partner since he took office in March 2022.
He was previously in a relationship with political scientist and sociologist
Irina Karamanos.
The last Chilean president to have a child while in office was Carlos Ibanez
del Campo, an army officer, who became a father in 1930 during his first
mandate.
He went on to serve a second term in the 1950s.