Katherine Martorell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Katherine Martorell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Expert Commissioner of the Constitutional Council | |
| In office 6 March 2023 – 7 November 2023 | |
| Undersecretary for Crime Prevention | |
| In office 11 March 2018 – 17 August 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Sebastián Piñera |
| Preceded by | Oscar Carrasco |
| Succeeded by | María José Gómez |
| Councilwoman of Quinta Normal | |
| In office 6 December 2012 – 6 December 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 January 1982 |
| Party | National Renewal |
| Spouse | Claudio Pontillo |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Katherine Denisse Martorell Awad (Santiago, 18 January 1982)[1] is a lawyer and politician from Chile, affiliated with Renovación Nacional (RN).[1] She served as Undersecretary for Crime Prevention during the second administration of President Sebastián Piñera from 2018 to 2021, and was previously a councillor for Quinta Normal between 2012 and 2016.[2]
She has served on the board of the party’s policy institute, the Instituto Libertad,[3] and currently presides over RN’s Supreme Tribunal, the body responsible for upholding internal statutes and party discipline. In that capacity, she announced the formal nomination of Evelyn Matthei as the party’s presidential candidate in January 2025.[4]
The Chilean press often places her within the party’s liberal wing — associated with a pragmatic economic outlook and moderate social stance.[5] This identification has been reinforced by her close political relationship with former President Piñera.[5]
Her maternal family is of Arab descent; her grandparents, children of Syrian immigrants, met within the Arab community of Quinta Normal, married, and founded the “Grandes Almacenes Awad.”[6] She was born in Santiago de Chile, daughter of Agustín Manuel Martorell Correa, of Catalan descent, and Angeli del Carmen Awad Awad.[7] Her parents met while working at Codelco and separated when she was eight years old.[6]
She completed her primary studies at Colegio Universitario Inglés and her secondary education at Colegio Carmen Teresiano, both in Santiago.[6]
She read law at the Universidad Central de Chile (UCEN),[5] later earning a master’s degree in regulatory law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.[8]
On 25 June 2022 she married Claudio Pontillo,[9][10] a public administrator and law graduate.[11]