In 1997, he was appointed Undersecretary at the Ministry General Secretariat of Government (1997–2000) by President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. In 2000, the newly elected President Ricardo Lagos named him Minister Secretary-General of Government (2000–2002), While he succeeded as a cabinet-member in completing several important initiatives such as the Chilean Press Law or the Freedom of Religion Law, and in modernizing the image of the Chilean government, his work as the government spokesperson (an additional responsibility of this position) was considered opaque. He was replaced in 2002 by the Heraldo Muñoz, of the Socialist Party.