Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago.

Besides his political involvement Lavín has been active in education in the University for Development, of which he was one of the founders and original owners, and as editor of the economics section in El Mercurio.

[6] He wrote a book, Una revolución silenciosa ("A Quiet Revolution"), in support of General Augusto Pinochet's economic policies.

Lavín was narrowly defeated in his bid for a Senate seat in the general election held in December 2009, but on 10 February 2010, President-elect Sebastián Piñera named him Secretary of Education.

[12] This prompted criticism from former presidential candidate José Antonio Kast, himself a former UDI member, who said that there was a "gay dictatorship" in Chile that "corners certain politicians who do not have the courage to say things as they believe them".

[13] During his campaigning to run for the Chilean presidency a noticeable effort was made by his parti UDI to put him at the forefront of all public television channels.

The public nevertheless noticed that he was constantly invited to these TV shows as means of political strategy to make people feel that he is a relatable figure.