José Antonio Kast

His father had been a lieutenant in the German Army and a Nazi Party member, who fled to Chile in December 1950 during the denazification of Germany and settled in Buin, a commune within the Maipo Department in Santiago Province (current Santiago Metropolitan Region).

Kast's mother, along with two of his siblings, Michael (later Miguel) and Barbara, arrived in Chile in 1951.

The family founded Cecinas Bavaria, a sausage factory, in 1962, where the family made most of their fortune.

In total, Kast's parents had 10 children, three of whom predeceased their parents.

The Intercept noted that Michael Kast Schindele parented children "who shared his far-right politics".

Kast's late brother Miguel was an economist and Chicago Boy who served under Augusto Pinochet as labor minister and president of the Central Bank of Chile, and Kast is also the uncle of Political Evolution senator Felipe Kast.

Kast studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he came in contact with the Movimiento Gremialista (Guildist Movement).

He was a candidate for the presidency of the university's student federation (FEUC).

José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician.

Kast ran for president in 2021, winning the first round and losing in the second round run-off to Gabriel Boric.

Part of a prominent political family, his father Michael Kast was a lieutenant in the Nazi Germany Army and his brother Miguel Kast worked as the minister of State and president of the Central Bank of Chile during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

As a student, Kast appeared on the 1988 Chilean national plebiscite electoral space, supporting the option to extend Pinochet's rule for eight more years.

Kast founded a law firm in 1990.

He was also the director of a real estate company owned by his family in the 1990s.

Between 1996 and 2000, Kast was a councilman in Buin.

In 2001, he was elected as a member of the Chamber of Deputies for District 30 of San Bernardo.

He was the Secretary General of the Independent Democratic Union, a party from which he resigned in order to run for president.

While in the Chamber of Deputies, Kast gained the support of the Bishop of San Bernardo Juan Ignacio González Errázuriz, with the bishop writing a four-page document instructing his congregation to support those against emergency contraception and same-sex marriage.

The support from the bishop was instrumental with Kast establishing his political career, with Kast's advocacy against contraception playing an important role in developing his support.

He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 2002 to 2018, representing District 24 of Peñalolén and La Reina.

Kast was a member of the Independent Democratic Union until 2016, becoming an independent politician until 2019 when he formed the conservative Chilean Republican Party and the think tank Republican Ideas.

He previously ran for president as an independent candidate in the 2017 Chilean general election, and has been the leader of Republican Action (Acción Republicana) since 2018.

Kast has been labelled as far right, and supports law-and-order messaging and free-market economic policies, while opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, divorce, birth control, euthanasia, and illegal immigration.

Kast's parents, Michael Kast Schindele and Olga Rist Hagspiel, were originally from Bavaria.

On 18 August 2017, Kast officially registered his independent candidacy with the Electoral Service, presenting 43,461 signatures.

He was supported by right-wing, conservative, libertarian, nationalist and retired military groups, among others.

Kast promoted a "less taxes, less government, pro-life" stance, as well as anti-illegal immigration government programs.

His support of the former military government led to much controversy during his campaign, especially his proposal to forgive convicts over 80 years old who have age-related illnesses, including those who were convicted of human rights violations under Pinochet's government.

He received 523,213 votes in the 2017 presidential election, representing 7.93% of the total votes and landing in the fourth place, although opinion polls only showed a 2% to 3% support for him.

In the second round of the election, he supported Sebastián Piñera, who won the election.

He remarked that "[In today's world,] Chileans need God", and said that the state should promote religion in schools by having available teachers for this subject when students choose to have them.

In terms of international relations, Kast proposed closing the border with Bolivia, arguing this measure would allow for a more effective fight against drug trafficking.

In 2018, he called on the government to sever diplomatic relations with France in retaliation for the asylum granted to former guerrilla Ricardo Palma Salamanca.

In March 2018, during a tour of Chilean universities, Kast was scheduled to give a talk at the Arturo Prat University in Iquique, but was physically assaulted by protesters opposed to his political views.

Kast also claimed censorship by the University of Concepción and the Austral University of Chile.

In the 2018 Brazilian general election, Kast supported Jair Bolsonaro.

In April 2018, Kast launched the right-wing political movement called Republican Action.

In September 2019, Kast was accused of failing to declare money transferred to companies in Panama.

Kast recognized the existence of these companies but denied that he owned them, saying they were owned by his brother, Christian Kast.

He then defended the right of Chilean people to invest abroad.