Fernando Barros

Fernando Barros Tocornal is a Chilean lawyer and academic serving as the Minister of National Defense since March 2026 under the administration of President José Antonio Kast. An independent with no formal party affiliation, he spent most of his career in the private sector as a specialist in tax and corporate law, notably co-founding the firm Barros & Errázuriz. He gained significant public attention in 1998 as a legal spokesperson for Augusto Pinochet during his detention in London. Barros has also served as a law faculty dean and board member for several major Chilean corporations.