Alí Rodríguez
Encyclopedia
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n politician, lawyer, and diplomat.
Biography
He is the leader of the party Patria Para Todos ("Motherland For All") and has occupied various positions in the government of President Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
, such as oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
advisor, General Secretary of OPEC, President of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Minister of External Relations and Ambassador to Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. He was appointed as Minister of Finance in June 2008. He is currently Minister of Electric Energy.
Career
He received his legal certification from Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas in 1961. He studied economics, specialising in crude oil; he has written several works about the energy sector.During the 1960s and early 1970s, he was active in the Marxist guerrilla movement operating in Venezuela. He was known as "Commander Fausto", allegedly acting as an explosives expert. He was one of the last guerrilla fighters to put down arms, after the so called "appeasement" policy (Pacificación) signaled the end of the armed insurgency. He was pardoned and became involved in parliamentary politics, and was elected to the then National Congress. He acquired a reputation as a negotiator and consensus seeker. He was minister of energy of Venezuela from 1999, when Chávez took office, until 2000.
In 2000 he was elected secretary-general of OPEC
OPEC
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization of twelve developing countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings...
and served from January 2001 to July 2002. He then became president of Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), where he masterminded the firing of more than 20,000 workers in response to their part in the company's leading role in the Venezuelan general strike of 2002-2003. He remained in that position until November 2004 when Chávez appointed him foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
in a cabinet reshuffle. On September 1, 2006, Rodríguez was appointed as Ambassador of Venezuela to Cuba. Later he served some time as Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela
United Socialist Party of Venezuela
The United Socialist Party of Venezuela is the name of a democratic socialist political party in Venezuela which resulted from the fusion of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivarian Revolution led by incumbent President Hugo Chávez...
for the Andean region in Venezuela before being appointed as Minister of Finance by Chávez on June 15, 2008.