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. Lagos Weber is currently considered a frontrunner for the position of president of the PPD, though he has not announced his candidacy in the April election.
Read more about this topic: Ricardo Lagos Weber, Political Career