Director of Chile

Director of Chile (Spanish: Director de Chile) is a title that refers to the head of state in the nation of Chile, a position that has evolved since the establishment of the military regime after the 1973 coup d'état. The concept of "Director" was formalized under Admiral Jorge Martínez Busch through the Law of Continuity in 2001, with the aim of promoting a stable and predictable transfer of power within the military government. This legal framework set forth mechanisms for the transition between directors and stipulated age limits to ensure generational change in leadership.

While General Augusto Pinochet was not officially titled "Director", he is typically included in discussions regarding the evolution of the position and was retroactively granted the title in 2002. His governance laid the groundwork for the militarized political landscape which followed, impacting the role of the Director significantly. Under Martínez Busch, after whom the ideology of Buschism was named, the governance model of the regime was solidified, and the military was positioned as the primary agent of authority. Since 1973, there have been a total of five directors: Pinochet, Martínez Busch, Ricardo Izurieta, Fabricio Carafa, and Liberato Falcó, who has been in the position since 2022.

Despite being an authoritarian regime, Chile does have a National Congress and a Constitution. Per the country's magna carta, the Director has the ability to exercise significant powers while still adhering to a framework that allows for certain checks and balances. Under the provisions of the Constitution, promulgated in 1980, the Director has the ability to appoint ministers, dissolve the National Congress, issue decrees, call for referenda, and enact laws by executive order. The Chilean state has been called a "managed democracy", and the powers of the Directors have been compared to those of an executive monarch.