Jorge Heine was born in Santiago, Chile in 1948.

After attending Santiago’s German School, he graduated from the University of Chile Law School in 1972 and did graduate studies in Political Science at York University in England, where he received a B.Phil. in Modern Political Analysis, and at Stanford University in California, where he received an M.A. and a PhD.

He was previously Ambassador of Chile to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (2003-2007).

During his tenure the first presidential visit from Chile to India took place, a bilateral trade agreement was signed and Chilean exports grew tenfold, to US$ 2.2 billion.

Jorge Heine held the Chair in Global Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, was Professor of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, Ontario.

From 2006 to 2009 he served as Vice-President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA).

He was previously a Consulting Professor at Stanford University (1999-2003) and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Heidelberg (2002-2003).He also served as the Minister of National Assets of Chile (1999).

Prior to that he served as Ambassador of Chile to South Africa (1994-1999), cross-accredited to Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

He was the first Ambassador to present credentials to President Nelson Mandela and collaborated with him and with Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the establishment of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.