Alí Rodríguez Araque (9 September 1937 – 19 November 2018) was a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, and diplomat. He was the leader of the political party Patria Para Todos (" Fatherland for All") and occupied various positions in the government of President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

, such as oil advisor, General Secretary of OPEC, President of

Petróleos de Venezuela Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (acronym PDVSA, , English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as exploration and ...

(PDVSA), Minister of External Relations and Ambassador to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. He was appointed as Minister of Finance in June 2008. His last occupation was Ambassador of Venezuela in Cuba since 2014 until his death in 2018.

Career

Born in Ejido, Mérida, he received his legal certification from Universidad Central de Venezuela in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

in 1961. He studied economics, specialising in

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

; he wrote several works about the energy sector. During the 1960s and early 1970s, he was active in the

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

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 was minister of energy of Venezuela from 1999, when Chávez took office, until 2000. In 2000 he was elected

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize Profit (eco ...

and served from January 2001 to July 2002. He then became president of Venezuela's state-owned oil company

(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 In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in a cabinet reshuffle. On 1 September 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 The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (, PSUV, ) is a Socialism, socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. It was formed from a merger of some of the political and social forces that support the Bolivar ...

for the Andean region in Venezuela before being appointed as Minister of Finance by Chávez on 15 June 2008. He died in Havana on 19 November 2018 at the age of 81.

References

External links

World Energy Magazine – The Global Energy Industry: An Opportunity for Cooperation, Stability and InvestmentWorld Energy Magazine – OPEC: New Realities and New Challenges
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez Araque, Ali 1937 births 2018 deaths People from Mérida (state) Ministers of foreign affairs of Venezuela Central University of Venezuela alumni Recipients of Venezuelan presidential pardons Presidents of PDVSA Finance ministers of Venezuela Fatherland for All politicians United Socialist Party of Venezuela politicians Secretaries general of OPEC Recipients of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Secretaries general of the Union of South American Nations Ambassadors of Venezuela to Cuba Venezuelan guerrillas Energy ministers of Venezuela Hugo Chávez ministers

Career

See also

References

External links