Juan Luis Castro
Juan Luis Castro | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of the Senate | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2022 | |
| Constituency | 8th Circunscription (O'Higgins Region) |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 11 March 2018 – 11 March 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Creation of the District |
| Constituency | District 15 |
| In office 11 March 2010 – 11 March 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Esteban Valenzuela |
| Succeeded by | Dissolution of the District |
| Constituency | 32nd District |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 April 1960 |
| Party | Socialist Party |
| Spouse | Andrea Mena Martineau (div. 2014) |
| Children | Three |
| Alma mater |
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| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Physician |
Juan Luis Castro González (born 18 April 1960) is a Chilean physician, trade union leader and politician affiliated with the Socialist Party (PS). Since March 2022 he has served as a member of the Senate of Chile, representing the 8th Circunscription in the O'Higgins Region for the 2022–2030 legislative period. He previously sat in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile from 2010 to 2018 for District 32 (Rancagua) and from 2018 to 2022 for District 15 of the same region.
A native of Santiago, Castro studied medicine at the University of Chile, qualifying as a physician in 1985 with a specialisation in internal medicine and later in haematology. He also completed a master’s degree in health administration at the University’s School of Economics in 1994. He served as president of the Colegio Médico de Chile between 2002 and 2008, having earlier held positions as regional secretary-general and national vice-president of the organisation.
Before entering national politics, he combined his medical work in the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital Barros Luco and the Hospital del Profesor with union activity at the national and Latin American level. In 1999 he was recognised by CNN and Time magazine as one of the “Latin American Leaders of the New Millennium”.