In 1995, he became the Chilean representative to the
APEC forum, conducting trade negotiations on economic cooperation. That same year he was part of a diplomatic team negotiating a
free trade agreement between Canada and Chile. Lagoes Weber continued to negotiate trade agreements over the next few years. Since the end of the 1990s, Lagos Weber served as the head of the department of Trade Policy of the
World Trade Organization, under the
Chilean Foreign Ministry's General Directorate of International Economic Relations (DIRECON). In October, 1999, Lagos Weber left his WTO job to serve a major role in the presidential campaign of his father
Ricardo Lagos. In 2000, he traveled with President Lagos to Berlin to act as a panelist at the "Third Way" conference, speaking for Chile and his father's administration. He subsequently became Director of Multilateral Economic Affairs in 2002, heading the General Directorate of International Economic Relations. Lagos Weber served as Chilean high representative for APEC during the summits of 2003 and 2004, and was the "main organizer" of the conference when Chile hosted APEC. To this end, he was also a Senior Official for Chile, and the president of APEC's Senior Officials Meeting II prior to the conference. Lagos Weber was a candidate for the congressional elections in December 2005, but withdrew his candidacy in August based on polls that suggested that, even with a 45% showing, he would not secure a seat under Chile's electoral rules.
Ministership Lagos Weber was a top campaign strategist in
Michelle Bachelet's victorious 2005 presidential campaign. In January, before her own inauguration, President-elect Bachelet sent Lagos Weber as Chile's representative to the inauguration of
Evo Morales in
Bolivia, signaling an intent to improve the two countries' strained relations. In late January, 2006, Lagos Weber was named
Ministry General Secretariat of Government, essentially the presidential
spokesman, by President Michelle Bachelet, and he took office on March 11. In 2007, Bachelet announced that any cabinet members seeking to run in the upcoming elections would have to announce their resignation by January, 2008. With the popularity of the Bachelet administration at a low, and the
Concertación's support suffering, Lagos Weber announced his resignation on December 6, 2007, to make his candidacy for the
Senate of Chile for the district of the
Valparaíso Region in the December 2008 election. Seen as a rising star, often aided by his recognizability as the former president's son and a visible spokesman to the current president, the upcoming election takes on increased importance as the
Concertación faces the risk of losing its dominant role in the government. He was replaced by
Francisco Vidal (also from the PPD), who had already served in that post for the administration of
Ricardo Lagos Escobar.
Senate Lagos Weber is a member of the
Senate of Chile for district V
Valparaíso Region. On 15 March 2016 he was elected
President of the Senate, he succeeded
Patricio Walker. On 21 March 2017 he was succeeded by
Andrés Zaldívar. ==References==