Jorge Rodríguez (Venezuelan politician)

Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez (born 9 November 1965) is a Venezuelan politician and psychiatrist serving as President of the National Assembly of Venezuela since 2021. He previously served as the vice president of Venezuela from 2007 to 2008 and as Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality from 2009 to 2017. He is the brother of Delcy Rodríguez, the current vice president.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Rodríguez and the second or maternal family name is Gómez.
Jorge Rodríguez
Jorge Rodríguez in 2023
12th President of the National Assembly of Venezuela
Incumbent (contested)
Assumed office
January 5, 2021
Disputed withDinorah Figuera
Preceded byLuis Parra
Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information
In office
November 3, 2017 – September 4, 2020
PresidentNicolás Maduro
Preceded byErnesto Villegas
Succeeded byFreddy Ñáñez
Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality
In office
December 1, 2009 – November 3, 2017
Preceded byFreddy Bernal
Succeeded byLuis Lira
Vice President of Venezuela
In office
January 8, 2007 – January 3, 2008
PresidentHugo Chávez
Preceded byJose Vicente Rangel
Succeeded byRamón Carrizales
Personal details
Born
Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez

(1965-11-09) November 9, 1965
Barquisimeto, Venezuela
Political partyUnited Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) (from 2007)
Fifth Republic Movement (until 2007)
ChildrenLucía Rodríguez
Héctor Rodríguez
RelativesDelcy Rodríguez (sister)
Alma materCentral University of Venezuela

Rodríguez was elected as president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, after being nominated by the Great Patriotic Pole on 5 January 2021. Rodríguez will direct the first year of the 5th Legislature of the National Assembly, which resulted from elections held on 6 December 2020.[1][2][3]

Career

He was born in Barquisimeto. Prior to his appointment as vice-president, Rodríguez had been the chief of Venezuela's National Electoral Council.[4]

On 3 January 2007 President Hugo Chávez announced that Rodríguez would be the next vice president, replacing José Vicente Rangel.[4] He was sworn in on 8 January, two days before Chávez's swearing in for his next term as president.

Rodríguez studied medicine at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV); he was the president of the Federation of University Centers in 1988. After graduating, he studied psychiatry at the UCV and community clinical psychology at the Andrés Bello Catholic University.[4]

He headed the government's campaign in favor of a group of constitutional amendments in the December 2007 referendum. Following the defeat of the referendum, Chávez announced on 3 January 2008 that he was replacing Rodríguez with Ramón Carrizales, previously the Minister of Housing. Chávez said that Rodríguez would concentrate on developing the new United Socialist Party of Venezuela.[5]

In the November 2008 regional elections, Rodríguez was elected as Mayor of the Libertador District in Caracas.

Sanctions

Rodríguez has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia.

Canada

On 22 September 2017, Canada sanctioned Rodríguez due to rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order following the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election.[6][7]

Colombia

In January 2019, Rodríguez was banned by Colombia from entering the country, included in an entry ban list of over 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime."[8][9]

United States

The United States sanctioned Rodriguez on 25 September 2018 for his efforts in solidifying President Maduro's power in Venezuela.[10]

Personal life

His father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, was a leader in the Socialist League of Venezuela. He was arrested in 1976 as a suspect in the kidnapping by guerrillas of William Frank Niehous, vice-president of the Owens-Illinois Venezuela, and tortured to death by the police. [11][12] His sister, Delcy Rodríguez, has also served as a senior official during the Maduro administration.[13]

See also

References
  1. Nacional, El (2021-01-04). "Proponen a Jorge Rodríguez como nuevo presidente de la AN". EL NACIONAL (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  2. "Jorge Rodríguez presidirá nueva AN; Iris Varela y Didalco Bolívar, vicepresidentes". PANORAMA.com.ve (in Spanish). Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  3. "Bloque de la Patria propone a Jorge Rodríguez como presidente de la AN". Diario Primicia (in Spanish). 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  4. Clodovaldo Hernández, "Chávez designates former electoral director as Vice-President" Archived 2007-01-18 at the Wayback Machine, eluniversal.com, January 4, 2007.
  5. Matthew Walker, "Chavez Replaces Vice President, Sees `Difficult' Year Ahead", Bloomberg.com, January 4, 2007.
  6. "Venezuela sanctions". Government of Canada. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. "Canada sanctions 40 Venezuelans with links to political, economic crisis". The Globe and Mail. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  8. "Maduro encabeza lista de 200 venezolanos que no pueden entrar al país" [Maduro tops list of 200 Venezuelans who can not enter the country]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 30 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019. Inicialmente serían más de 200 las personas incluidas dentro de esta lista de posibles inadmitidos por Colombia, dada su estrecha relación y apoyo al régimen de Nicolás Maduro
  9. "Primera parte de lista de colaboradores de Maduro que no pueden ingresar a Colombia" [First part of list of Maduro collaborators who can not enter Colombia] (in Spanish). RCN Radio. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  10. "U.S. targets Venezuelans with new sanctions for corruption". UPI. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  11. "Se cumplen 40 años del secuestro más largo en Venezuela, caso Niehous". Panorama (in Spanish). 27 February 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  12. Márquez, Laureano (2018). "La democracia pierde energía". Historieta de Venezuela (in Spanish). p. 119. ISBN 978-1-7328777-1-9.
  13. "¡Se acabó el berrinche! Delcy Eloína sale de la cancillería". La Patilla (in European Spanish). 21 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
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