Franco Aldo Parisi Fernández (born 25 August 1967) is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

an business engineer and

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

. He received recognition for doing radio and television programs about economy along with his brother Antonino Parisi, and has been nicknamed "the economist of the people". In 2012 he launched his independent candidacy for president for the 2013 elections in Chile. Parisi ideologically identifies himself as a

social liberal Social liberalism is a political philosophy and variety of liberalism that endorses social justice, social services, a mixed economy, and the expansion of civil and political rights, as opposed to classical liberalism which favors limited g ...

. In November 2021 he reached the third place of votes in the first round of the presidential elections, behind

José Antonio Kast José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. He is running for president in the 2025 Chilean general election, for the third time. Part of the prominent Kast family, he se ...

and

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean politician and the President of Chile since 2022. He previously served two four-year terms as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies. Boric first gained prom ...

. Parisi had refrained from visiting Chile for several years, reportedly due to an outstanding warrant related to unpaid child support. However, he has since resolved this matter and visited Chile in 2023 for campaign purposes.

Biography

Parisi was born in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

on 25 August 1967. He studied at the Escuela Experimental Salvador Sanfuentes, and completed his secondary studies at the Instituto Nacional. He also briefly studied at Chile's Military Academy. He graduated with a degree in business administration at the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, and obtained a doctorate in the same subject at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Parisi served as visiting professor at

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

(2002–03),

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

(2000),

(1999), and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. He has held academic positions at Texas Tech University and the University of Alabama, the former which ended after allegations of sexual harassment from university students. In Chile, he was a professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of Chile, where he also worked as a vice dean and interim dean in 2010 and was a member of the Group of Monetary Politics (Grupo de Política Monetaria). He ran for dean but lost the election to Manuel Agosín. He also worked at the for-profit Andrés Bello National University, where he was appointed dean of the Business Faculty, and, subsequently became the dean of the Chilean Institute for Executive Development (IEDE), both owned by

Laureate International Universities Laureate Education, Inc. is a company based in Miami, Florida, United States. The firm owns and operates Laureate International Universities, with campuses in Mexico and Peru. The company is publicly traded on the Nasdaq. Corporate history Beg ...

. He resigned the office in July 2012. In the 1990s, Parisi worked as a junior part-time government advisor in different issues. On 10 June 2010 he was appointed councilor of the Chilean Copper Commission (Cochilco) by president

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...

. He left office on 10 June 2012. During 2011, following a controversy with local retailer La Polar, Parisi made several appearances in Chilean radio and television and his economy phenomena explanations in colloquial terms started to become his trademark. At midyear, Parisi started a TV show called ''Los Parisi: el poder de la gente'' (''The Parisis: the power of the people''), a television program hosted by him and his brother Antonino Parisi. The program was initially broadcast on Vía X, and then in La Red. In March 2012, he advised the leaders of the protests in Aysén.

Presidential candidacy

He announced his presidential pre-candidacy as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

on 30 January 2012, and called for "independent primaries" against Marco Enríquez-Ominami; however, Enríquez-Ominami declined the proposal. Although some members of the Regionalist Party of the Independents (PRI) wanted the party to support Parisi, the PRI ended up promoting their own candidate, Ricardo Israel. Members of RN requested their directive board "freedom of action" to support Parisi. In early June 2013, Parisi announced the collection of fifty thousand signatures of people supporting his candidacy, which allowed him to register his candidacy before the Electoral Service of Chile on 7 August 2013.

Personal life

On 16 June 1996, he married Laura Lee Campbell in Clarke, Georgia, United States; the couple divorced on 5 January 2009.Tercer Juzgado de Familia de Santiago, causa rol C-4689-08

Works

* * * (CD-ROM) * (CD-ROM) * (CD-ROM)

References

External links

Official candidacy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parisi, Franco 1967 births Living people Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera alumni Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy alumni University of Chile alumni University of Georgia alumni Rice University faculty University of Alabama faculty Georgetown University faculty Academic staff of the University of Chile 20th-century Chilean economists People from Santiago, Chile Candidates for President of Chile Independent politicians in Chile Chilean television personalities University of Georgia faculty Academic staff of the Andrés Bello National University Chilean people of Italian descent Party of the People (Chile) politicians 21st-century Chilean economists