List of Presidents of Venezuela

President of Venezuela
Standard of the President
Incumbent Hugo Chávez since 2 February 1999
Residence	Palacio de Miraflores
Term length	Six years, renewable
Inaugural holder	Cristóbal Mendoza
Formation	March 5, 1811
Website	.:: Sitio Oficial del Ministerio del Poder Popular del Despacho de la Presidencia ::.

Venezuela

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Venezuela

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The President of Venezuela (Spanish: Presidente de Venezuela) is both the head of state and also the head of government of Venezuela. The current presidential term is for six years with the constitutionally guaranteed recourse of holding a popular recall referendum anytime within the last three years of a presidential term. On 15 February 2009, a referendum removed the previous restrictions which limited the President to two terms.^[1] The current president of Venezuela is Hugo Chávez.

The designation "Presidente" 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. The first president, taking office on July 5, 1811, was actually the president of a triumvirate that rotated the presidency weekly. The person serving as president during the week of July 5 was one of the three signatories of the Declaration of Independence: Cristóbal Mendoza. Mendoza shared the triumvirate with Juan Escalona and Baltasar Padrón.^[2][3]

Owing to the profound confusion of the Venezuelan War of Independence and the period of Gran Colombia over what is now Venezuela, this page has gaps between 1814 and 1819. The Congress of Angostura appointed Simón Bolívar "Jefe Supremo de la República de Venezuela" (Supreme Commander of the Republic of Venezuela) from 1819 until 1830. The list below 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).

Comments on presidential ordering

Presidential Standard Afloat

The second numbering column reflects the number of the presidency. Since its creation as a republic in 1811, Venezuela has had a total to date of 75 presidencies: a single person serving a single term beginning with Cristóbal Mendoza. The second column reflects 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 both 24th presidency and 25th presidency, but this is counted in the second column as the 20th presidential office. The third column lists the actual numbering 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 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 colors shaded about each president indicate the political party affiliation of each President (see key, below).

List of Presidents of Venezuela

      Conservative Party       Liberal Party       Independent       Military government       Democratic Action       COPEI       National Convergence       Fifth Republic Movement/United Socialist Party

# (all)	# (unique)	# (selected all)	Picture	President	Dates in office	Form of entry	Occupation
1	1	1		Cristóbal Mendoza, Juan Escalona, Baltasar Padrón	March 5, 1811 – March 21, 1812	Executive Triumvirate elected by First Congress	Lawyer, Militia Captain, Landowner
2	2	2		Simón Bolívar	August 6, 1813 – July 7, 1814	Indirect elections	Military general
3	3	2		Simón Bolívar	February 15, 1819 – December 17, 1819	Indirect elections	Military general
4	4	3		José Antonio Páez	January 13, 1830 – January 20, 1835	Indirect elections	Military general
5	—	5		Andrés Narvarte	January 20, 1835 – February 9, 1835	Acting President	Lawyer / politician
6	5	4		José María Vargas	February 9, 1835 – July 9, 1835	Indirect elections	Physician
7	—	6		José María Carreño	July 27, 1835 – August 20, 1835	Acting President	Military general
8	—	4		José María Vargas	August 20, 1835 – April 24, 1836	Restoration	Physician
9	6	5		Andrés Narvarte	April 24, 1836 – January 20, 1837	Interim caretaker	Lawyer / politician
10	7	6		José María Carreño	January 20, 1837 – March 11, 1837	Interim caretaker	Military general
11	8	7		Carlos Soublette	March 11, 1837 – February 1, 1839	Interim caretaker	Military general
12	9	3		José Antonio Páez	February 1, 1839 – January 28, 1843	Indirect elections	Military general
13	10	7		Carlos Soublette	January 28, 1843 – January 20, 1847	Indirect elections	Military general
14	11	8		José Tadeo Monagas	January 20, 1847 – February 5, 1851	Indirect elections	Military general
15	12	9		José Gregorio Monagas	February 5, 1851 – January 20, 1855	Indirect elections	Military general
16	13	8		José Tadeo Monagas	January 20, 1855 – March 15, 1858	Indirect elections	Military general
17	14	10		Pedro Gual Escandon	March 15, 1858 – March 18, 1858	Provisional President	Lawyer
18	15	11		Julián Castro	March 18, 1858 – August 2, 1859	Coup d'état	Military general
19	16	10		Pedro Gual Escandon	August 2, 1859 – September 29, 1859	Provisional President	Lawyer
20	17	11		Manuel Felipe de Tovar	September 29, 1859 – May 20, 1861	Coup d'état (first term); Direct elections (second term)	Politician
21	18	10		Pedro Gual Escandon	May 20, 1861 – August 29, 1861	Provisional President	Lawyer
22	19	3		José Antonio Páez	August 29, 1861 – June 15, 1863	Dictatorship	Military general
23	20	12		Juan Crisóstomo Falcón	June 15, 1863 – March 18, 1865	Victory in the Federal War (first term)	Military general
24	20	12		Juan Crisóstomo Falcón	March 18, 1865 – April 25, 1868	Indirect elections (second term)	Military general
25	21	13		Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual	April 25, 1868 – June 28, 1868	Provisional President	Military officer
26	22	14		Guillermo Tell Villegas	June 28, 1868 – February 20, 1869	Provisional President	Lawyer / Military
27	23	15		José Ruperto Monagas	February 20, 1869 – April 16, 1870	Revolution	Military general
28	24	14		Guillermo Tell Villegas	April 16, 1870 – April 27, 1870	Provisional President	Lawyer / Military
29	25	16		Antonio Guzmán Blanco	April 27, 1870 – February 20, 1873	Revolution (first term)	Lawyer / Military general
30	25	16		Antonio Guzmán Blanco	February 20, 1873 – February 27, 1877	Indirect elections (second term)	Lawyer / Military general
31	26	17		Francisco Linares Alcántara	February 27, 1877 – November 30, 1878	Indirect elections	Military general
32	27	18		José Gregorio Valera	November 30, 1878 – February 26, 1879	Provisional President	Military general
33	28	16		Antonio Guzmán Blanco	February 26, 1879 – May 12, 1880	Election by the Federal States	Lawyer / Military general
34	28	16		Antonio Guzmán Blanco	May 12, 1880 – 1882	Election by the Federal States	Lawyer / Military general
35	28	16		Antonio Guzmán Blanco	1882 – April 26, 1884	Election by the Federal States	Lawyer / Military general
36	29	18		Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo	April 26, 1884 – September 15, 1886	Elections by the Federal States	Military general
37	30	16		Antonio Guzmán Blanco	September 15, 1886 – August 8, 1887	Elections by the Federal States	Lawyer / Military general
38	31	19		Hermógenes López	August 8, 1887 – July 2, 1888	Intermin caretaker	Military general
39	32	20		Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl	July 2, 1888 – March 19, 1890	Elections by the Federal States	Lawyer
40	33	27		Raimundo Andueza Palacio	March 19, 1890 – June 17, 1892	Elections by the Federal States	Lawyer
41	34	—		Guillermo Tell Villegas	June 17, 1892 – August 31, 1892	Provisional President	Lawyer / Military
42	—	—		Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido	August 31, 1892 – October 7, 1892	Provisional President	Lawyer
43	35	28		Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo	October 7, 1892 – March 14, 1894	Revolution	Military general
44	35	29		Joaquín Sinforiano de Jesús Crespo	March 14, 1894 – February 28, 1898	Elections by the Federal States	Military general
45	36	30		Ignacio Andrade	February 28, 1898 – October 20, 1899	Direct elections	Politician
46	37	31		Cipriano Castro Ruiz	October 20, 1899 – December 19, 1908	Revolution	Military general
47	38	32		Juan Vicente Gómez	December 19, 1908 – August 5, 1913	Coup d'état	Military general
48	—	—		José Gil Fortoul	August 5, 1913 – April 19, 1914	Appointed provisional president	Lawyer
49	—	—		Victorino Márquez Bustillos	April 19, 1914 – 1922	Appointed provisional president[4]	Lawyer / politician
50	40	32		Juan Vicente Gómez	1922 – May 30, 1929	—	Military general
51	41	—		Juan Bautista Pérez	May 30, 1929 – June 13, 1931	Indirect election by the National Assembly	Lawyer / magistrate
52	42	32		Juan Vicente Gómez	June 13, 1931 – December 17, 1935	Indirect election by the National Assembly	Military general
53	43	33		Eleazar López Contreras	December 18, 1935 – June 30, 1936	Interim caretaker (first term)	Military general
54	43	34		Eleazar López Contreras	June 30, 1936 – May 5, 1941	Indirect elections (second term)	Military general
55	44	35		Isaías Medina Angarita	May 5, 1941 – October 18, 1945	Indirect elections	Military general
56	45	36		Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello	October 19, 1945 – February 17, 1948	Coup d'état	Politician
57	46	37		Rómulo Gallegos Freire	February 17, 1948 – November 24, 1948	Direct elections	Writer / Novelist
58	47	38		Carlos Delgado Chalbaud	November 24, 1948 – November 13, 1950	Coup d'état	Military officer
59	48	39		Germán Suárez Flamerich	November 27, 1950 – December 2, 1952	Interim caretaker	Lawyer
60	49	40		Marcos Pérez Jiménez	December 2, 1952 – January 23, 1958	Indirect elections	Military officer
61	50	41		Wolfgang Larrazábal	January 23, 1958 – November 14, 1958	Coup d'état	Rear admiral
62	51	42		Edgar Sanabria	November 14, 1958 – February 13, 1959	Interim caretaker	Lawyer
63	52	43		Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello	February 13, 1959 – March 13, 1964	Direct elections	Politician
64	53	44		Raúl Leoni Otero	March 13, 1964 – March 11, 1969	Direct elections	Lawyer
65	54	45		Rafael Caldera Rodríguez	March 11, 1969 – March 12, 1974	Direct elections	Lawyer
66	55	46		Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez	March 12, 1974 – March 12, 1979	Direct elections	Politician
67	56	47		Luis Herrera Campins	March 12, 1979 – February 2, 1984	Direct elections	Lawyer
68	57	48		Jaime Lusinchi	February 2, 1984 – February 2, 1989	Direct elections	Physician
69	58	49		Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez[5]	February 2, 1989 – May 21, 1993	Direct elections	Politician
70	—	—		Octavio Lepage Barreto[6]	May 21, 1993 – June 5, 1993	Interim president	Lawyer / Politician
71	59	50		Ramón José Velásquez	June 5, 1993 – February 2, 1994	Interim president	Writer
72	60	51		Rafael Caldera Rodríguez	February 2, 1994 – February 2, 1999	Direct elections	Lawyer
73	61	52		Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias	February 2, 1999 – January 10, 2001	Direct elections	Military officer (Lt. colonel)
74	62	52		Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias	January 10, 2001 – January 10, 2007[7]	Direct elections	Military officer (Lt. colonel)
75	63	52		Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías	January 10, 2007 – present	Direct elections	Military officer (Lt. colonel)

Latest election

Main article: Venezuelan presidential election, 2006

e • d Venezuelan presidential election, 2006

Candidates	Votes	%
Hugo Chávez (Fifth Republic Movement)	7,309,080	62.84%
Manuel Rosales (A New Era)	4,292,466	36.9%
Luis Reyes	4,807	0.04%
Venezuela Da Silva	3,980	0.03%
Carmelo Romano Pérez	3,735	0.03%
Alejandro Suárez	2,956	0.02%
Eudes Vera	2,806	0.02%
Carolina Contreras	2,169	0.01%
Pedro Aranguren	2,064	0.01%
José Tineo	1,502	0.01%
Yudith Salazar	1,355	0.01%
Ángel Yrigoyen	1,316	0.01%
Homer Rodríguez	1,123	0%
Isbelia León	793	0%
Total (Turnout 74.69 %)	11,790,397	100.0
Source: CNE:[8] null votes: 160,245 (1.35% of all votes)

See also

	Venezuela portal
	Politics portal

• Venezuelans
• First Lady of Venezuela
• Politics of Venezuela
• History of Venezuela
• Venezuelan presidential election, 2006
• lists of incumbents
• Politics

Notes

1. ^ Chavez wins chance of fresh term
2. ^ "Presidentes de Venezuela" at Consulado General de Bucaramanga
3. ^ Briceño Perozo, Mario. "Mendoza, Cristóbal de" in Diccionario de Historia de Venezuela, Vol. 3. Caracas: Fundación Polar, 1999. ISBN 978-980-6397-37-8
4. ^ Bustillos 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.
5. ^ On May 21, 1993 Pérez resigned after being accused of corruption by the Attorney General.
6. ^ Octavio Lepage was the President of Congress and was in charge of the government until Ramón J. Velásquez was elected by Congress on June 5, 1993.
7. ^ On April 11, 2002, senior military officers refused Chávez's orders to carry out Plan Ávila. They arrested Chávez, saying he had resigned, and 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.
8. ^ "Elección presidencial". CNE. 2007. http://www.cne.gob.ve/divulgacionPresidencial/resultado_nacional.php. Retrieved 2007-10-14. (Spanish)

References

• (Spanish) Nuestros Presidentes – Official government portal for presidential biographies.
• (Spanish) Cuadro de Presidentes Venezolanos
• (Spanish) Presidentes y jefes de Gobierno
• (Spanish) Comentarios sobre la Lista de Presidentes

External links

• Official portal for the President
• Official government site (Government Online)