Mario Olavarría
Chilean politician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mario Antonio Olavarría Rodríguez (born 9 February 1963) is a Chilean lawyer and politician affiliated with the Independent Democratic Union (UDI). He is a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile.[1][2]
Mario Olavarría | |
|---|---|
| |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| Assumed office 11 March 2026 | |
| Constituency | 8th District |
| Mayor of Colina | |
| In office 6 December 2012 – 6 December 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 January 1963 Viña del Mar, Chile |
| Party | Independent Democratic Union (UDI) |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (LL.B) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Olavarría studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (PUC) and obtained his degree in 1987. Prior to his election to Congress, he served multiple terms (2000–2021) as Mayor of Colina, and later as Presidential Provincial Delegate of Chacabuco province.[3]
Early life and education
Mario Antonio Olavarría Rodríguez was born in Viña del Mar on 9 February 1963.[4] He is the son of Mario Olavarría Aranguren and Aída Rodríguez Gazitú.[4] He is the father of two daughters.[4]
He attended the Sagrados Corazones schools in Concepción and later the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones de Santiago, graduating in 1980.[4] In 1981 he entered the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile to study law, obtaining a law degree in December 1985 and being admitted to the bar on 14 September 1987 with the thesis El fuero como la competencia absoluta.[4]
Between 2005 and 2007 he completed a Master’s degree in Public Management at the Adolfo Ibáñez University.[4]
Professional career
He began his professional career as legal director of the Municipality of Talagante (1987–1989), and later worked at the Municipality of Quinta Normal, where he served as legal director and municipal secretary (1989–1990). From 1995 he worked as a legal adviser for the Municipality of Las Condes.[4]
Parallel to his political activities, he served as director of Sociedad Profesional Innova Ltda., a legal advisory firm providing services to companies and institutions, beginning in 1991.[4]
From 2022 he worked as an independent legal adviser, providing consultancy to private companies, municipalities, and public entities in matters related to regulatory compliance, municipal management, and territorial development.[4]
In July 2022 he joined the Corporación Fuerza Chacabuco as an active member, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the development of the province, participating in its strategic direction.[4]
Political career
A member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), he began his political career as a councillor for Providencia (1996–2000). During that period he also participated in the Chilean Association of Municipalities (AChM), serving as deputy secretary-general (1996–1998), president of the Justice Commission, and later vice-president (1998–2000).[4]
He was elected mayor of Colina in the 2000 municipal elections with 44.08% of the vote.[4] He was subsequently re-elected in 2004 (55.60%), 2008 (57.47%), 2012 (57.28%), and 2016 (66.08%), serving five consecutive terms as mayor until 28 June 2021.[4]
In May 2011 he assumed the presidency of the Chilean Association of Municipalities, but resigned one month later in the context of a judicial investigation for bribery.[4] In 2013 he was one of the founders of the Association of Municipalities of Chile (AMUCH), an organization he later presided over beginning in 2014, promoting initiatives for the modernization of municipal administration.[4]
After leaving the mayoralty of Colina in June 2021, he was appointed by President Sebastián Piñera as Provincial Presidential Delegate of Chacabuco Province, becoming the second person to hold that position. He served in that role until March 2022, coordinating public policies, territorial security measures, and the implementation of central government programs in the province.[4]
In the October 2024 municipal elections he ran for mayor of Lampa, but was not elected, obtaining 14,041 votes (23.33% of the valid votes cast).[4]
In the parliamentary elections of 16 November 2025 he ran for the Chamber of Deputies representing the 8th District of the Santiago Metropolitan Region as a candidate of the Independent Democratic Union within the Chile Grande y Unido coalition. He was elected with 23,873 votes, equivalent to 3.11% of the valid votes cast, for the 2026–2030 legislative period.[4]