Bachelet's election in January marked a sharp shift in traditionally conservative, male-dominated Chile. Her first act as president was to swear in a Cabinet of 10 men and 10 women, fulfilling a vow to have equal numbers of men and women in decision-making posts.

Bachelet is the daughter of an air force general, Alberto Bachelet, who was tortured and died in prison for opposing the 1973 military coup led Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Then a 22-year-old medical student, she was briefly imprisoned and tortured along with her mother before being forced into exile.

Bachelet, a separated mother of three, is the first directly elected Latin American woman who didn't rise to power as the widow of a powerful man.

The Japan Times Weekly: March 18, 2006
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