Patricio Walker

Patricio Walker Prieto (born 28 April 1969) is a Chilean politician. He was President of the Senate between 11 March 2015 and 15 March 2016.

A former member of the Christian Democratic Party. He served as a Senator for the 18th Senatorial District, representing the Aysén Region, between 2010 and 2018. He was President of the Senate of Chile from 11 March 2015 to 15 March 2016.

Previously, he was a Member of the Chamber of Deputies for District No. 8 in the Coquimbo Region, serving three consecutive terms between 1998 and 2010. He also served as President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile between March 2007 and March 2008.

Early life and education Walker was born in Santiago on 28 April 1969. He is the son of Ignacio Joaquín Walker Concha and Isabel Margarita Prieto Vial. Among his nine siblings are former senator Ignacio Walker Prieto and senator Matías Walker Prieto. His grandfather was senator Horacio Walker Larraín, and his great-grandfather was senator Joaquín Walker Martínez. He is married to Francisca Ibarra Ovalle and has four children. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Chile on 16 January 1995. He obtained 23 out of 38 votes and succeeded Isabel Allende.

In July 2015 Walker spoke out against a possible return to compulsory voting in Chile, calling the remedy possibly worse than the problem. Walker travelled to Venezuela for the 2015 parliamentary elections as an observer. He spoke with Lilian Tintori, wife of imprisoned politician Leopoldo López. Walker supported the couple and stated there was no crime and fraudulent evidence.

Walker was succeeded as President of the Senate on 15 March 2016 by Ricardo Lagos Weber. In October 2017, as President of the Senate Commission on Children he argued for raising the monthly subsidies for children. Walker decided not to run in the 2017 Chilean general election and his term in office ended on 18 March 2018.