Winston Chinchón

Joaquín Winston Albert Chinchón Bunting (born 8 April 1942) is a Chilean surgeon and politician of English descent. He served as Minister of Public Health from 1983 to 1986 during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet.

Life and family

Chinchón was born in Valparaíso on 8 April 1942, the son of José Joaquín Chinchón Herrera and Catalina Isabel Bunting Celedón. He grew up in the El Almendral district.

He completed secondary studies at Liceo José Victorino Lastarria and earned his medical degree from the University of Chile in 1967.

He married María Angélica Lavanderos de Paz, with whom he had three children: Carola Alejandra, Felipe Winston and Andrea Angélica.

Medical and public career

Chinchón served for many years in the Health Directorate of Carabineros de Chile, where he reached the rank of major in the medical corps. He also worked as a professor of surgery at the University of Chile.

In August 1983 he was appointed Minister of Public Health, succeeding Vice Admiral Hernán Rivera Calderón. During his tenure he confronted public demonstrations opposing the proposed “Health Law”.

He frequently stated in the press that Chile's general and infant mortality rates had improved substantially after 1973 due to the efficiency of the National Health Services System (SNSS) and public health policies.

Chinchón left office on 13 August 1986 and was succeeded by Dr. Juan Giaconi Gandolfo.

Outside government, he has been a member of the Chilean Scientific Society, and a full member of the National Centre for Public Order Studies (CENEOP), a private non-profit research corporation focused on public security matters.