List of Presidents of Venezuela
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|} The President of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de Venezuela) is the English political nomenclature that designates both the head of state and head of government of Venezuela. The powers allowed the Venezuelan presidency under the Constitution of Venezuela are currently unusually sweeping and broad, with the power to dismiss judges, legislate, and issue emergency declarations and decrees. The current presidential term is for six years with one possibility of immediate reelection, and with the constitutionally guaranteed recourse of holding a popular recall referendum anytime within the last three years of a presidential term.
The designation "President" encompasses only those persons who were sworn into office as President of Venezuela following Venezuela's declaration of independence from Spanish colonial rule, which took effect on July 5, 1811. Due to the profound turmoil of the South American Wars of Independence and the reign of the republic of Gran Colombia over what is now Venezuela, this designation also effectively excludes heads of state or government in Gran Colombia; thus Simón Bolívar is not considered the first president of Venezuela. The list overall only focuses on heads of state governing Venezuela after Venezuela's separation and declaration of independence from Gran Colombia (in early 1830). The list includes interim caretaker as well as regular serving presidents, and democratically-installed presidents as well as those installed by other means (e.g.; Marcos Pérez Jiménez).
Contents
Comments on presidential ordering
The first numbering column reflects the uninterrupted time in office served by a single person. For example, Juan Crisóstomo Falcón served two consecutive terms and is counted in the first column as only fourteenth president (and not the fourteenth and fifteenth). Because of this numbering, the list below contains 61 distinct presidencies, but a fewer number of distinct individual presidents. Many of the men listed below became President on a provisional basis as they waited for the arrival of the elected or regular president, such as commonly occurs in the aftermath of a civil war, rebellion, or coup d'état. As a consequence, other Venezuelan presidential rosters may not choose to include the 61 terms below, citing the extreme brevity of certain terms, unusual circumstances that may have surrounded a president's ascendancy into office, and other factors. The most common listing criteria create a traditionally recognized list of 53 distinct presidential terms. This alternate listing system is displayed in the third column of the table below. The colors shaded about each president indicate the political party affiliation of each President (see key, below).List of Presidents of Venezuela
| Key: | Movement for the Fifth Republic (Movimiento V República) | Independent | Military government | Democratic Action (Acción Democrática) | COPEI (COPEI — Partido Social Cristiano de Venezuela) |
|---|
| # (unique) | # (all) | # (selected all) | President | Dates in office | Form of entry | Occupation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 
| José Antonio Páez | 1830-1835 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 2 | 2 | 2 | 
| José María Vargas | 1835-1836 | Indirect elections | Physician |
| 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Andrés Navarte | 1836-1837 | Interim caretaker | — |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 
| José María Carreño | 1837-1837 | Interim caretaker | Military general |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 
| Carlos Soublette | 1837-1839 | Interim caretaker | Military general |
| 6 | 6 | 6 |
| José Antonio Páez | 1839-1843 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Carlos Soublette | 1843-1847 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 
| José Tadeo Monagas | 1847-1851 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 9 | 9 | 9 | 
| José Gregorio Monagas | 1851-1855 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 10 | 10 | 10 |
| José Tadeo Monagas | 1855-1858 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 11 | 11 | — | 
| Pedro Gual | 1858-1858 | — | — |
| 12 | 12 | 11 | 
| Julián Castro | 1858-1859 | Coup d'état | Military general |
| 13 | 13 | — |
| Pedro Gual | 1859-1859 | — | — |
| 14 | 14 | 12 | 
| Manuel Felipe Tovar | 1859-1861 | Coup d'état (first term); direct elections (second term) | Politician |
| 15 | 15 | — |
| Pedro Gual | 1861-1861 | — | — |
| 16 | 16 | 13 |
| José Antonio Páez | 1861-1863 | — | — |
| 17 | 17 | 14 | 
| Juan Crisóstomo Falcón | 1863 - 1865 | Victory in the Federal War (first term) | — |
| 17 | 18 | 15 |
| Juan Crisóstomo Falcón | 1865 - April 1868 | Indirect elections (second term) | Military general |
| 18 | 19 | — |
| Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual | 1868-1868 | — | — |
| 19 | 20 | — |
| Guillermo Tell Villegas | 1868-1868 | — | — |
| 20 | 21 | 16 | 
| José Ruperto Monagas | 1868-1870 | Revolution | Military general |
| 21 | 22 | — |
| Guillermo Tell Villegas | 1870-1870 | — | — |
| 22 | 23 | 17 | 
| Antonio Guzmán Blanco | 1870-1877 | Revolution (first term) | Lawyer / Military general |
| 22 | 24 | 18 |
| Antonio Guzmán Blanco | 1870-1877 | Indirect elections (second term) | Lawyer / Military general |
| 23 | 25 | 19 | 
| Francisco Linares Alcántara | 1877-1878 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 24 | 26 | — |
| José Gregorio Varela | 1878-1878 | — | — |
| 25 | 27 | 20 |
| Antonio Guzmán Blanco | 1879-1880 | Election by the Federal States | Lawyer / Military general |
| 25 | 28 | 21 |
| Antonio Guzmán Blanco | 1880-1882 | Election by the Federal States | Lawyer / Military general |
| 25 | 29 | 22 |
| Antonio Guzmán Blanco | 1882-1884 | Election by the Federal States | Lawyer / Military general |
| 26 | 30 | 23 | 
| Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo | 1884-1886 | Elections by the Federal States | Military general |
| 27 | 31 | 24 |
| Antonio Guzmán Blanco | 1886-1887 | Elections by the Federal States | Lawyer / Military general |
| 28 | 32 | 25 |
| Hermógenes López | 1887 - 1888 | Intermin caretaker | Military general |
| 29 | 33 | 26 | 
| Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl | 1888 - 1890 | Elections by the Federal States | Lawyer |
| 30 | 34 | 27 | 
| Raimundo Andueza Palacios | 1890-1892 | Elections by the Federal States | Lawyer |
| 31 | 35 | — |
| Guillermo Tell Villegas | 1892-1892 | — | — |
| 32 | 36 | 28 |
| Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo | 1892-1894 | Revolution | Military general |
| 32 | 37 | 29 |
| Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo | 1894-1898 | Revolution | Military general |
| 33 | 38 | 30 | 
| Ignacio Andrade | 1898-1899 | Direct elections | Politician |
| 34 | 39 | 31 | 
| Cipriano Castro Ruiz | 1899-1908 | Revolution | Military general |
| 35 | 40 | 32 |
| Juan Vicente Gómez | 1908-1914 | Coup d'état | Military general |
| 36 | 41 | — | 
| Victorino Márquez Bustillos | 1914-1915 | Appointed provisional presidentBustillos was appointed to the presidency in a provisional fashion after Juan Vicente Gómez, after himself being elected (by the National Assembly) as president. Gómez opted not to assume the presidency, instead choosing to continue in the role of directing the Venezuelan army. | Lawyer / politician |
| 37 | 42 | 32 |
| Juan Vicente Gómez | 1915-1929 | — | — |
| 38 | 43 | — |
| Juan Bautista Pérez | 30 May 1929 - 13 June 1931 | Indirect election by the National Assembly | Lawyer / magistrate |
| 39 | 44 | 32 |
| Juan Vicente Gómez | 1931-1935 | Indirect election by the National Assembly | Military general |
| 40 | 45 | 33 | 
| Eleazar López Contreras | 1935-1936 | Interim caretaker (first term) | — |
| 40 | 46 | 34 |
| Eleazar López Contreras | 1936-1941 | Indirect elections (second term) | Military general |
| 41 | 47 | 35 | 
| Isaías Medina Angarita | 1941-1945 | Indirect elections | Military general |
| 42 | 48 | 36 |
| Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello | 1945-1948 | Coup d'état | Politician |
| 43 | 49 | 37 | 
| Rómulo Gallegos Freire | 1948-1948 | Direct elections | Writer / Novelist |
| 44 | 50 | 38 | 
| Carlos Delgado Chalbaud | 1948-1950 | Coup d'état | Military officer |
| 45 | 51 | 39 | 
| Germán Suárez Flamerich | 1950-1952 | Interim caretaker | Lawyer |
| 46 | 52 | 40 | 
| Marcos Pérez Jiménez | 1952-1958 | Indirect elections | Military officer |
| 47 | 53 | 41 | 
| Wolfgang Larrazábal | 1958-1959 | Coup d'état | Rear admiral |
| 48 | 54 | 42 | 
| Edgar Sanabria | 1959-1959 | Interim caretaker | Lawyer |
| 49 | 55 | 43 |
| Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello | 1959-1964 | Direct elections | Politician |
| 50 | 56 | 44 | 
| Raúl Leoni Otero | 1964-1969 | Direct elections | Lawyer |
| 51 | 57 | 45 | 
| Rafael Caldera Rodríguez | 1969-1974 | Direct elections | Lawyer |
| 52 | 58 | 46 | 
| Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez | 1974-1979 | Direct elections | Politician |
| 53 | 59 | 47 | 
| Luis Herrera Campins | 1979-1984 | Direct elections | Lawyer |
| 54 | 60 | 48 | 
| Jaime Lusinchi | 1984-1989 | Direct elections | Physician |
| 55 | 61 | 49 |
| '''Carlos Andrés Pérez RodríguezOn May 21 1993 Pérez resigned after being accused of corruption by the Attorney General. President of Congress Octavio Lepage was in charge of the government until Ramón J. Velásquez was elected by Congress on June 4, 1993. | 1989-1993 | Direct elections | Politician |
| 56 | 62 | 50 | 
| Ramón José Velásquez | 1993-1994 | Interim president | Writer |
| 57 | 63 | 51 |
| Rafael Caldera Rodríguez | 1994 - 2 February 1999 | Direct elections | Lawyer |
| 58 | 64 | 52 | 
| '''Hugo Rafael Chávez FríasOn April 11 2002 senior military officers refused Chávez's orders to carry out Plan Avila. They instead arrested Chávez and forced him to resign. Pedro Carmona Estanga assumed the presidency. Following an uprising, aided by sectors of the military loyal to Chávez, the new government collapsed and Chávez was restored to power early on April 15 2002. Between the deposing of Carmona and the return of Chávez, Vice President Diosdado Cabello assumed the presidency. | 2 February 1999 - 11 April 2002 | Direct elections | Military officer (Lt. colonel) |
| 59 | 65 | — | 
| Pedro Carmona Estanga | 11 April 2002- 13 April 2002 (2 days) | Coup d'état | Businessman |
| 60 | 66 | — | 
| Diosdado Cabello Rondón | 13 April 2002 - 13 April 2002 (several hours) | Interim caretaker | Engineer |
| 61 | 67 | 53 |
| Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías | 13 April 2002 - present | Direct elections | Military officer (Lt. colonel) |
Notes
See also
- Politics of Venezuela
- History of Venezuela
- Venezuelan presidential election, 2000
- lists of incumbents
- Politics
External Link
- http://www.venezuela.gov.ve/ Official portal for the President
References
- () [Nuestros Presidentes] — Official government portal for presidential biographies.
- () [Jefes de Estado de Venezuela]
- () [Cuadro de Presidentes Venezolanos]
- () [Presidentes y jefes de Gobierno]
- () [Comentarios sobre la Lista de Presidentes]
Topics related to Venezuela ()
| |
|---|---|
| History | Presidents – New Granada – Bolívar in Venezuela (1813-1814) – Bolívar's War – Venezuelan War of Independence – Battle of Carabobo – Battle of Lake Maracaibo – Congress of Angostura – Greater Colombia |
| Politics | Constitution – Presidency – National Assembly – Political parties – Foreign Affairs |
| Geography | States (Rankings) – Adminisrative regions – Cities – Lake Maracaibo – Environmental issues – National parks – |
| Economy | Companies – Stock Exchange – Venezuelan bolívar |
| Society & Culture | List of Venezuelans – Education – Cuisine – Demographics – Bolivarian Missions – Holidays – Hospitals – Media (Newspapers, TV stations) – Music – Venezuelan spanish – Miss Venezuela |
| Miscellaneous | Communications – Transportation – East-West Railway |
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