Piñera names tourism entrepreneur governor of Magallanes region

Friday, March 12th 2010 - 00:56 UTC

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Liliana Kusanovic Marusic belongs to a family long established in Chilean Patagonia (Pic. La Prensa Austral)

Magallanes region in the extreme south of Chile has a new provincial governor, Liliana Kusanovic Marusic, a well known tourism entrepreneur in Punta Arenas who last year was distinguished among the top 100 “Women Leaders” of Chile.

Her nomination as well as that of all other provincial governors from the different regions in which Chile is divided was one of the first official decrees to be signed by incoming President Sebastián Piñera. Under Chilean law, the President names the provincial governors (intendentes).-

Ms Kusanovic is a civil engineer who also has a Master in Business Administration from the University of Texas. She was born and raised in Magallanes region and has been involved in the tourism industry and farming, both long established as family businesses.

Among other things her family owns 4.400 hectares of land enclosed by the Torres del Paine national park and have developed camping sites, hotel Las Torres and other tourism facilities and attractions. Ms Kusanovic has travelled extensively, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Alaska, looking for new ideas to develop tourism in the area.

She was offered the job by the Interior minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, a day before President Piñera took office on Thursday.

Outgoing president Michelle Bachelet also had Ms Kusanovic in the 2009 list of the most enterprising and innovating business people in Chile’s regions (not including Santiago).

The top 110 “Women Leaders” of Chile distinction was awarded by the country’s leading newspaper El Mercurio.

Categories: Politics, Latin America.

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Christopher
I have to say, I have hope with this new government. Specially because of the moral compass that would seem to be instilled. If the rest of the government is as rightous and correct as Liliana Kusanovic, then i would be able to proudly say i am a chilean unlike as with the previous government. They had become too comfortable in their chairs and had forgotten what public service meant.
Mar 12th, 2010 - 05:46 pm 0
Dominique
Let's not forget that Hosteria Las Torres is in complete violation with the existence of a national park all around it, since it includes activities such as cattle ranching, sheep herding, pumping fresh water from the glacier rivers without authorization, and therefore for free. So the fact that our now governor is owner of that, and does not seems to care at all about the effects her business has on one of the last pristine parks in the world, that should give us an idea on how she'll govern the region...pathetically!
Mar 12th, 2010 - 10:06 pm 0

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