Hugo Chavez
Details
- Also Known As:
- Chávez of Arabia, Goofy.
- Date of Birth:
- July 28, 1954
- Height:
- 5' 10"
- Hometown:
- Sabaneta
Bio:
Hugo Chavez (born Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías in Sabaneta, Venezuela) lived from July 28, 1954 to March 5, 2013. Chavez was the President of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), which he led until his death.
Formerly in the army, he founded the secretive Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) in the early 1980s to work towards overthrowing it. His movements let to jail time, before he was elected president of Venezuela in 1998. He subsequently introduced a new constitution which increased rights for marginalized groups and altered the structure of Venezuelan government, and was re-elected in 2000. He was then elected again.
During his reign, he had extensive disputes with Colombia, and supported rebels in Colombia and Ecuador, causing ambassadors to be recalled and troops to be mobilized. Chávez was a highly controversial and divisive figure both at home and abroad, having insulted other world leaders and compared US president George W. Bush to a donkey and the devil.
In June 2011, Hugo revealed that he was recovering from an operation to remove an abscessed tumor with cancerous cells. He had another operation in December 2012. He was to have been sworn in on 10 January 2013, but the National Assembly of Venezuela agreed to postpone the inauguration to allow him time to recuperate and return from a third medical treatment trip to Cuba. However, he died in Caracas on 5 March 2013 at the age of 58.
Best Known For:
Hugo Chavez is best known for being the President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, and for making some very controversial choices while in power.
Personal Life:
Hugo was married twice, first to Nancy Colmenares, with whom he had three children Rosa Virginia, María Gabriela, and Hugo Rafael. Then he married Marisabel Rodríguez with whom he has one daughter, Rosinés. Both marriages ended in divorce. He was Catholic.