President of Venezuela

Presidential Standard. (In Land)

Presidential Standard. (At Sea)

As a self described republic with a presidential executive, Venezuela grants significant powers to the president. He or she effectively controls the executive branch, represents the country abroad, and appoints the cabinet and, with the approval of the National Assembly, the judges for the Supreme Tribunal of Justice. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB).

The powers and obligations of the president of Venezuela are established, limited and numbered by articles 236 and 237 of the constitution:

1. To comply with and enforce the Constitution and the law.
2. To direct the activity of the Government.
3. To appoint and remove the Executive Vice-president and the Cabinet Ministers.
4. To direct the international relations of the Republic and sign and ratify international treaties, agreements or conventions.
5. To direct the National Armed Forces in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, exercise supreme hierarchical Authority over the same and establish their contingent.
6. To exercise supreme command over the National Armed Forces, promote their officers at the rank of colonel or naval captain and above, and appoint them to the positions exclusively reserved to them.
7. To declare states of exception and order the restriction of guarantees in the cases provided for under the Constitution.
8. To issue executive orders having the force of law, subject to authorization in advance by an enabling act.
9. To call special sessions of the National Assembly.
10. To issue regulations for the application of laws, in whole or in part, without altering the spirit, purpose and reason for being of the laws.
11. To administer the National Public Treasury.
12. To negotiate national loans.
13. To order extraordinary budget item in addition to the budget, subject to authorization in advance from the National Assembly or the Delegated Committee.
14. To enter into contracts in the national interest, subject to this Constitution and applicable laws.
15. To designate, subject to prior authorization from the National Assembly or the Delegated Committee, the Attorney-General of the Republic and the heads of the permanent diplomatic missions.
16. To designate and remove those officials whose appointment is made subject to his discretion by the Constitution or the applicable law.
17. To address reports or special messages to the National Assembly, either in person or through the executive vice-president.
18. To formulate the National Development Plan and, subject to approval in advance from the National Assembly, direct the implementation of the same.
19. To grant pardons.
20. To determine the number, organization and competence of the Ministries and other organs comprising the National Public Administrative Branch, as well as the organization and functions of the Cabinet Ministers, within the principles and guidelines set forth in the pertinent organic law.
21. To dissolve the National Assembly in the case contemplated by the Constitution.
22. To call reference in the cases provided for under the present Constitution.
23. To call and preside over meetings of the National Defense Council.
24. Any others vested in the president under the Constitution and law.

Cristóbal Mendoza, first President of Venezuela. Painting by Martín Tovar y Tovar.

The presidential designation 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 of the first established Republic of Venezuela 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. A second triumvirate followed on April 3, 1812, whose members were Francisco Espejo, Fernando Toro and Francisco Javier Ustariz.[20][21]

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 1813 and 1819. For this period in time, historians refer to the Republic of Venezuela as the Second Republic of Venezuela (1813–1814) and the Third Republic of Venezuela (1817–1819) as Simon Bolivar twice reestablished the republic. The Congress of Angostura appointed Simón Bolívar "Supreme Commander of the Republic of Venezuela" (Jefe Supremo de la República de Venezuela) from 1819 until 1830.

In 1830, José Antonio Páez declared Venezuela independent from Gran Colombia and became president, taking office on January 13, 1830. Although he was not the first president of Venezuela (having in mind Cristóbal Mendoza in 1811), he was the first head of state of independent Venezuela, after the dissolution of Gran Colombia. From that point on, five constitutions were adopted, all slightly changing the extent of the president's powers and responsibilities.

During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, remaining dominated by regional military dictators until the mid-20th century. Since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments, as an exception where most of the region was ruled by military dictatorships, and the period was characterized by economic prosperity.

According to articles 227 and 229 of the Constitution of Venezuela, adopted in 1999, the following requirements must be met in order to become President of Venezuela:[22]

• Being a Venezuelan citizen from birth and possessing no other nationality.
• Being at least 30 years old at the time of the election.
• Not being a subject to any conviction by final judgment.
• Not being a Minister, governor, mayor, or the vice president of the Republic from the day the candidacy is announced to the day of the election.

The current presidential term is for six years with the constitutionally guaranteed recourse of holding a popular recall referendum any time within the last three years of a presidential term. A 2009 referendum removed the previous restrictions which limited the president to 2 terms.[2]

From 1958 to 1999, the presidential term was set at five years. A sitting president was not only barred from immediate reelection, but could not run again for 10 years (equivalent to two full terms) after leaving office.

The president may be recalled after a specific time in office.

• 2004 Venezuelan recall referendum
• 2016 Venezuelan recall referendum (not approved)

Presidents of Venezuela who served under the 1864 constitution (starting with Juan Crisóstomo Falcón) bore the title of "President of the Union", instead of the usual "President of the Republic" still used today. Aside from that, all heads of state of the country since 1811 have held the title of "President of Venezuela", with minor variations regarding the official name of the country (which has changed four times since the restoration of the independence in 1830).

Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) entered the office as interim president on 5 March 2013 after the death of Hugo Chávez, and was elected in the 2013 presidential election. He was reelected in the 2018 presidential election, which was disputed amid charges of irregularities including: the elections were held four months before the prescribed date,[23] multiple major opposition parties were banned from participating or imprisoned,[24] and there were charges of vote-buying.[25][26]

On 5 January 2019, the National Assembly declared that—following the expiration of the mandate granted through the 2013 presidential election—Maduro would have no constitutional mandate to govern Venezuela if he was sworn in on 10 January.[27] Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution establishes that in the event of a presidential vacuum, the president of the National Assembly takes charge of the presidency until a new election is called within 30 days. Noting that the 2018 presidential election failed to adhere to constitutional requirements, the National Assembly contend that Maduro's second term never began, and the seat is vacant.[28]

On 11 January, Juan Guaidó of the Popular Will party and president of the legislature stated that he was prepared to take on the role of acting president.[29] With the National Assembly recognizing a vacuum in the office of the president,[30] and citing Article 233 of the Venezuelan Constitution,[28] Guaidó was declared acting president of Venezuela by that body on 16 January.[28] The legislature approved the Statute Governing the Transition to Democracy to Re-establish the Validity of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: Estatuto que Rige la Transición a la Democracia para Restablecer la Vigencia de la Constitución de la República Bolivariana De Venezuela) on 5 February, defining the timing of the transition.[31]

Maduro's controversial win and Guaidó's subsequent claim triggered the Venezuelan presidential crisis. The international community is divided on the issue of the Venezuelan presidency;[32] AP News reported that "familiar geopolitical sides" had formed, with allies Russia, China, Iran, Syria, and Cuba supporting Maduro, and the US, Canada, and most of Western Europe supporting Guaidó.[33] Moreover, the United Nations has continued to recognize the Maduro presidency as the legal representative of Venezuela as of December 2019.[34][35]

• List of presidents of Venezuela
• List of vice presidents of Venezuela
• History of Venezuela
• Politics of Venezuela

• Official website of the Presidency of Venezuela Archived 2016-01-21 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
• Official website of the Venezuelan Government (in Spanish)