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President of Venezuela from 1993 to 1994 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ramón José Velásquez Mujica (28 November 1916 – 24 June 2014) was a Venezuelan politician, historian, journalist, and lawyer. He served as the president of Venezuela between 1993 and 1994.
Ramón J. Velásquez | |
|---|---|
 Ramón J. Velásquez in 1993 | |
| President of Venezuela | |
| In office 5 June 1993 – 2 February 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Octavio Lepage (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Rafael Caldera |
| Minister of Communications of Venezuela | |
| In office 1969–1971 | |
| Secretary of the Presidency of Venezuela | |
| In office 1959–1963 | |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Mantilla |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 November 1916 San Juan de Colón, Táchira, United States of Venezuela |
| Died | 24 June 2014 (aged 97) Caracas, Venezuela |
| Political party | Acción Democrática |
| Spouse |
Ligia Betancourt Mariño
(m. 1948; died 2008) |
| Alma mater | Central University of Venezuela |
| Signature |  |
Velásquez was born in Táchira in November 1916. His parents were Ramon Velasquez Ordoñez, a journalist and proofreader for a newspaper and educator Regina Mujica. For his initial studies he was home schooled by his parents in his hometown. He completed his primary education in San Cristóbal Simón Bolívar. In 1935 he traveled to Caracas to finish high school at the Liceo Andres Bello. Velasquez undertook his higher education at the Central University of Venezuela, from which he received a PhD in social and political sciences in 1942 and a law degree in 1943.
Velásquez became a reporter for Últimas Noticias in 1941.[1] Velásquez was the president of El Nacional on two occasions (1964-1968/1979-1981).
He authored numerous books on Venezuela's political history, being generally considered in his lifetime as Venezuela's foremost historian. He was President of the National Academy of History.[citation needed]
During the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, Velásquez was jailed for a year for his role at the compilation of the Libro negro de la dictadura (Black book of dictatorship). The files of this book helped expose the crimes of the dictatorial period.
In 1958, as Venezuela transitioned to democracy, Velásquez was elected to the Venezuelan Senate for the state of Tachira, and later to the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies for the state of Miranda.[2]
He served as Secretary General (Chief of Staff) of the Presidency during the government of Rómulo Betancourt. After that, he was part of the National Congress. During Rafael Caldera's Presidential administration, Velásquez served as Minister of Communications from 1969 until 1971. From 1984 to 1987 he was President of the Comisión para la Reforma del Estado (COPRE), the Commission on the Reform of the State.[2] Between 1989 and 1993, he chaired the "Comisión Presidencial para Asuntos Fronterizos con Colombia", Presidential Commission for border issues with Colombia (COPAF). At the time of his death, he was a board member of the New York-based Human Rights Foundation.[3]
In 1993, as a result of the crisis produced by the impeachment of President Carlos Andrés Pérez, Congress appointed Velásquez President of the Republic, finishing the constitutional period in 1994. He served from 5 June 1993 to 2 February 1994. As a highly respected national figure there was general consensus around his name for such a task.[2] In August Velásquez held an emergency meeting to respond to the tropical storm Bret's heavy damage that leaves at least 70 dead.[4] About 1,400 workers and volunteers helped in rescue efforts after the mudslides struck Caracas and surrounding areas,[5] assisted by Red Cross volunteers and 800 firefighters. Storm victims were temporarily housed at the Fuerte Tiuna army base.[6] Roads were quickly cleared of debris and mud, although many were not reopened initially due to the threat for additional mudslides.[7] The government was overshadowed by the so-called narcoindulto to trafficker Larry Tovar Acuña, in this case the Private Secretariat of the Presidency obtained irregularly signed by the President for the release to a known drug dealer. Other events under his brief government include the bankruptcy of Banco Latino with subsequent leakage of foreign currency abroad and tragedy of Tejerías. Among his governmental measures was the introduction of Value Added Tax as part of the Enabling Act entrusted to the National Congress.
| 1993-1994 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Interior | Carlos Delgado Chapellín | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Fernando Ochoa Antich | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Finance | Carlos Rafael Silva | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Defense | Iván Darío Jiménez Sánchez | 1993 |
| Radamés Muñoz León | 1993 | |
| Rafael Montero Revette | 1993–1994 | |
| Ministry of Development | Gustavo Pérez Mijares | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Transport and Communications | José Domingo Santander | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Education | Elizabeth Yabour de Caldera | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Justice | Fermín Mármol León | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons | Alirio Parra | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Environment | Adalberto Gabaldón Azuaje | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Agriculture | Hiram Gaviria | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Labor | Luis Horacio Vivas | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Health and Social Assistance | Pablo Pulido Musche | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Urban Development | Henry Jattar Senior | 1993–1994 |
| Ministry of Family and Youth | Teresa Albánez | 1993–1994 |
| Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic | Ramón Espinoza | 1993–1994 |
| Office of Coordination and Planning | Hernán Anzola Jiménez | 1993–1994 |
| CVG | Francisco Layrisse | 1993–1994 |
In 1948, Ramón José Velásquez married Ligia Betancourt Mariño (1920 – 14 July 2008)[8] who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1993 to 1994. On 24 June 2014 Velásquez died at the age of 97 from natural causes. He died 5 weeks after former President Jaime Lusinchi did on 21 May 2014.
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