Ramón Alonso Carrizales Rengifo (born 8 November 1952 in Zaraza

Zaraza, Guárico

Zaraza is a city of about 30,000 people in the eastern edge of the state of Guárico in Venezuela. It is almost exclusively a farming town with high unemployment. The main crop is corn....

) is a Venezuela

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 who was Vice President of Venezuela

Vice President of Venezuela

Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the second highest political position in the government of Venezuela. Vice President is the most direct collaborator of the President of the Republic according to the Constitution. Position of Vice President appeared in the...

 from January 2008 to January 2010. Carrizales was a Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 of the Venezuelan Armed Forces (retired in 1994) and was educated at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences

Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences

The Military academy of Venezuela , founded in 1810. It is located in Caracas, Venezuela and provides a four year program of training for officer cadets...

, where he graduated in 1974.

He was appointed Vice President by President Hugo Chávez

Hugo 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...

 in January 2008 after previously serving as chair of the Fondo Nacional de Transporte Urbano (Fontur) from 2000 to 2004, Infrastructure Minister 2004 to 2006, and Housing Minister from 2007 to 2008. In 2009, Chavez appointed Carrizales to also serve as the Minister of Defense

Venezuelan Ministry of Defense

The Venezuelan Ministry of the Popular Participation for the Defense is the federal-level organ responsible for maintaining the Venezuelan armed forces. As of March 2010, this ministry is headed by Carlos Mata Figueroa after the former minister and vicepresident of the nation resigned under...

.

On 25 January 2010 Carrizalez resigned as both Defense Minister and Vice President for personal reasons.