Kast appoints Francisco Riveros Cantuarias as new Minister of Sport

The President of the Republic, José Antonio Kast Rist, appointed Francisco Leonel Riveros Cantuarias as Minister of Sport, effective as of August 14, 2026. The appointment was formalized in Supreme Decree No. 131 of the Ministry of the Interior, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile No. 44,555, on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Section I, page 1, under official reference CVE 2870331.

The decree was issued by the Undersecretariat of the Interior under Article 32 No. 7 of the Political Constitution of the Republic, which grants the President the power to appoint Ministers of State. The act also invokes Supreme Decrees No. 38 and No. 130, both of 2026, from the Ministry of the Interior, and Resolution No. 36 of 2024 from the Comptroller General of the Republic, which establishes the rules regarding exemption from the toma de razón (legal review) process.

The content of the appointment decree

The resolutive text provides for the appointment of the new head of the Sports portfolio using a formula that details his identification data and the date of entry into office:

• Full name: Francisco Leonel Riveros Cantuarias.
• National identity card: No. 13,882,639-2.
• Position: Minister of Sport.
• Validity: effective as of August 14, 2026.
• Modality: assumes office for urgent reasons of good service, without awaiting the full processing of the decree.

The decree bears the signatures of José Antonio Kast Rist, President of the Republic, and Claudio Alvarado Andrade, Minister of the Interior, and was transcribed by Máximo Pavez Cantillano, Undersecretary of the Interior.

The departure of Minister Natalia Ducó Soler

The appointment occurs as a direct continuation of the departure of the previous head of the portfolio. Supreme Decree No. 130, from Santiago, dated August 13, 2026, from the Ministry of the Interior, accepted the resignation submitted by Natalia Ducó Soler, national identity card No. 16,991,745-0, from the position of Minister of Sport, effective as of August 14, 2026.

That decree states that Natalia Ducó Soler had been appointed to the position as of March 11, 2026, by virtue of Supreme Decree No. 38 of the same year from the Ministry of the Interior, and that she submitted her resignation on August 13, 2026. Its publication took place in the Official Gazette No. 44,554, on Monday, September 21, 2026, under reference CVE 2868804, one day before the decree designating her successor appeared.

Interim period and institutional framework of the portfolio

While the handover was being processed, the portfolio was exercised in a substitute capacity by Andrés Otero Klein, Undersecretary of Sport, who signed service commission decrees published in the Official Gazette on September 2 and 21, 2026, as Minister of Sport (S).

The Ministry of Sport was created by Law No. 20,686 and is governed, regarding personnel and administration, by Decree with the Force of Law No. 1 of 2013, from the Ministry General Secretariat of Government, which establishes its personnel staff. It is a State secretariat with high public exposure, responsible for national sports policy and the relationship with federations and the sports system.

Impact of the decision

The change of leadership in the Ministry of Sport was resolved in just one business day in terms of official publication: the resignation of Natalia Ducó Soler appeared on September 21 and the appointment of Francisco Riveros Cantuarias the following day, both in Section I of the Official Gazette. The formula used, with immediate assumption of office without waiting for the full processing of the decree, confirms that the portfolio remained covered without vacancy since August 14, 2026, in the midst of the national sports cycle.

Source: Official Gazette of the Republic of Chile, No. 44,555, Tuesday, September 22, 2026, Section I, page 1 (official reference: CVE 2870331).