Esteban Bullrich

Esteban José Bullrich (born 26 May 1969, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine politician. He is currently the Minister of Education of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

Bullrich was born and raised in the city of Buenos Aires. After completing his bachelor’s degree, Bullrich began his graduate studies in the United States at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He was just 24 years old when he entered the program. At Kellogg he focused on human relations and organizational studies. After receiving his MBA Bullrich spent two months teaching mathematics to orphans in Nicaragua through the Padre Fabretto Foundation; he writes on his blog estebanbullrich.com that this experience "left a profound effect on me with regards to how a good education can help a child develop and achieve a more prosperous adult life" [quote translated from Spanish].

Bullrich began his political career in 2003 when he ran for City Council for the Recreate for Growth party (Recrear) and later became vice-president for the Buenos Aires District. In office, he has organized and led efforts to improve the Argentine education system. In 2005, he was elected to the National Chamber of Deputies, representing the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Bullrich caucused with the PRO alliance, a center-right political bloc. Bullrich and PRO are also allied with political blocs Commitment to Change and Recrear.

In 2006 Bullrich was recognized as an Eisenhower Fellow in its Multi Nation Program 2006. This experience enabled him to meet American policy makers and study the US educational system with special attention on charter schools.

Bullrich has been in the press serving as an opposition congressman in the Skanska corruption case where the Swedish construction and development company allegedly over-charged the Argentine government for the construction of a pipeline in northern Argentina.

In 2007, Bullrich took leave from the chamber of deputies to become interim Minister of Social Development of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. He officially resigned to the chamber of deputies in 2009, a few months before the end his term.

On December 22, 2009, after the resignation of Abel Posse, it was announced that Bullrich would become Minister of Education of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. He took office on January 5, 2010. During his tenure, he reduced subsidies to private schools^[1] to increase teacher salaries in public schools by around 29%^[2] and closed 221 classes in order to merge them and increase inefficiencies. Both decisions have been criticized by different sectors, the former by private schools organizations and the later by teacher's unions.^[3]During his administration launched the Sarmiento Plan, in order to give laptops to students and teachers. Justice investigates overpricing in the purchase of these computer would have been paid 185 million dollars of premium, he said Garbarz Ariel, expert and legal expert. Premiums would be 285 percent^[4][5]

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