MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean president becomes first-time father

Boric started dating Carrasco after splitting with former First Lady Irina Karamanos

Violeta Boric Carrasco, daughter of Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font and his partner, environmental chemist and former professional basketball player Paula Carrasco, was born Wednesday evening at the Clinical Hospital of the University of Chile in Santiago, making the child the first ever born to a sitting president Carlos Ibáñez del Campo’s offspring in 1928 and 1930. The birth was confirmed after 11 pm local time.

Boric and his security team arrived at the hospital early Wednesday morning, after which nothing else was known until Violeta's birth was announced.

“Welcome to the world, Violeta Boric Carrasco! I congratulate the President and Paula for this moment full of love and hope. I send them a tight hug full of emotion,” former Interior Minister and presidential hopeful Carolina Tohá posted on X.

From the opposite end of the political spectrum, Evelyn Matthei wrote: “Congratulations to President Gabriel Boric and Paula Carrasco on the birth of their daughter Violeta. The arrival of a new life is always a cause for hope and joy. I wish them the best in this new stage as a family, with health, love, and wisdom.”

In December last year, Boric announced that he would become a father. “We will give the best of ourselves, so that the Chile we live in will be fairer and happier. We love you,” wrote Boric on social media back then.

Carrasco, 31, is an environmental chemist and a former national team basketball player. Her relationship with Boric was made public in September 2024. The Valparaíso native, who has a son aged 7 from a previous engagement, works at the Environment Ministry in the Mitigation and Transparency Office of the Climate Change Division, a position she has held since before meeting the President. Boric started his relationship with Carrasco last year after splitting with former First Lady Irina Karamanos in November 2023. Boric had been married to the anthropologist Karamanos for almost five years.

The president's romantic partner represented Chile at the Santiago Pan American Games in 2023. She has a degree in environmental chemistry from the University of Chile and is actively supporting her country's greenhouse gas inventory.