Darío Paya

Darío Guillermo Paya Mira (born 20 July 1964) is a Chilean lawyer and politician. He served as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile for four consecutive terms from 1994 to 2010, representing the 28th District. He subsequently served as Ambassador of Chile to the Organization of American States (OAS) under the first government of Sebastián Piñera. A longtime member of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI), he served as the party's secretary general from 2006 to 2008.

Early life Paya was born Darío Guillermo Payacán Mira on 20 July 1964 in Santiago, Chile. He is of Mapuche descent, and later shortened his paternal surname from Payacán to Paya. He is the son of Rubén Darío Paya Vega and Elizabeth Elena Mira Mellado. Since 2014, he has served as president of the Fundación Leadership Institute Chile (FLI).

Political career Paya began his political career as president of the Student Center of the School of Law at his university in 1985. he served as president of the party's youth wing from 1992 to 1994. Following the assassination of Senator Jaime Guzmán in 1991, Paya was re-elected president of the UDI youth wing, a position he held until 11 March 1994, when he assumed his seat in Congress.

Chamber of Deputies In the 1993 parliamentary elections, Paya was elected as a deputy for District No. 28 (Lo Espejo, Pedro Aguirre Cerda, and San Miguel) in the Santiago Metropolitan Region for the 1994–1998 term, defeating Mario Palestro, an emblematic figure of the Chilean left. At twenty-nine years of age, he was one of the youngest members elected to Congress in those elections. He obtained 41,029 votes (22.41%).

During the XLIX Legislative Period (1994–1998), he participated in the standing committees on Internal Government, Regionalization, Planning and Social Development, and on Human Rights, Nationality and Citizenship. In December 1997, he was re-elected for the 1998–2002 term with 34,325 votes (22.90%), and served on the Standing Committee on Labor and Social Security.

In the December 2001 elections, he retained his seat for the 2002–2006 term, obtaining the highest vote share in the district with 47,756 votes (32.23%). During this period, he served on the Special Committee on Public Safety and the standing committees on Constitution, Legislation and Justice, and on Science and Technology, of which he was chairman. In December 2005, he secured a fourth re-election for the 2006–2010 term with 31,691 votes (20.85%), serving on the standing committees on Economy and on Science and Technology.

In the 2009 parliamentary elections, he chose not to seek re-election, calling instead for generational renewal among the party's leadership.

Secretary General of the UDI From 2006 to 2008, he served as secretary general of the National Board of the UDI, under the presidency of Senator Hernán Larraín.

Ambassador to the OAS In February 2010, President-elect Sebastián Piñera designated him as director of the Government's Secretariat of Communications (Secom), a position he declined. In March 2010, he was appointed Ambassador of Chile to the Organization of American States (OAS), serving until the end of the administration in 2014.

Later political activity In August 2017, his resignation from the UDI was made public, ending more than 34 years of party membership, citing differences with party members.

In April 2020, he was appointed by President Sebastián Piñera as a member of the Foreign Policy Council of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Personal life Paya married economist Bettina Horst in 1994 and is the father of four children.