María Carolina Schmidt Zaldívar (born 9 September 1967) is a Chilean politician and businesswoman who was the Minister of the Environment between August 2018 and November 2021, in the second government of Sebastián Piñera.

After ten years, she became general manager of the Chilean branch of Nine West Holdings, focusing on expanding the brand to Latin American countries.

[2] In 2000, Schmidt was named general manager of the magazine Capital, serving in that role for eight years, and was later appointed by President Michelle Bachelet to the President’s Advisory Council, where Schmidt focused on children and women's work, specifically the "Chile Grows With You" program.

[3] In April 2013, Minister of Education Harald Beyer was impeached for "having failed to investigate complaints against universities allegedly engaged in profit-making"; Schmidt was highly regarded in Piñera's cabinet, and as a result she was appointed to the position, serving until Piñera's term ended on 11 March 2014.

[5] Representing the original host country, Schmidt serves as President of the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) held in Madrid, Spain.