Eduardo Fernández (born 18 October 1940) is a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n politician and lawyer. He was elected to the

Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies () was the lower house of Venezuela's legislative under its 1961 constitution; the Venezuelan Senate was the upper house. Under the 1999 constitution, the bicameral system was replaced by the unicameral National Assembly o ...

in 1968, serving until 1989 (with an interruption to serve as the Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency for

Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( (); 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009), twice elected the president of Venezuela, served for two five-year terms (1969–1974 and 1994–1999), becoming the longest serving democratically elected leade ...

, until 1974), and was a presidential candidate for COPEI in 1988. He has also served as President of the

Christian Democrat International The Centrist Democrat International ( es, Internacional Demócrata de Centro) is a Christian-democratic political international. Until 2001, it was known as the Christian Democrat International (CDI); before 1999, it was known as the Christian D ...

Background

Fernández gained a law degree from

Andrés Bello Catholic University Andrés Bello Catholic University also known in Spanish as Universidad Católica Andrés Bello is a private university in Venezuela. One of the largest universities in Venezuela, UCAB has campuses in several cities, such as Caracas (where the mai ...

in 1963, and graduate degrees in

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and o ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

International Institute of Social Studies The International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam is an independent and international graduate school of policy-oriented critical social science. ISS was established in 1952 by Dutch universities and the Neth ...

in the Netherlands in 1965 and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in the United States in 1967, respectively. He then returned to Venezuela, joining the faculty of Andrés Bello Catholic University.

Political career

Fernández was elected to the

in 1968. Soon after his election he took leave from Congress to serve in the cabinet of

, as the Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency. He returned to Congress in 1974, following the election of

Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as '' El Gocho'' (due to his Andean origins), was a Venezuelan politician and the president of Venezuela from 12 March 1974 to 12 M ...

, and was re-elected for successive terms until 1989. In 1989 he was elected President of the

. Fernández was a presidential candidate for COPEI in the

1988 Venezuelan general election General elections were held in Venezuela on 4 December 1988. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p555 The presidential elections were won by Carlos Andrés Pérez of Democratic Action, who received 52 ...

, losing to

of Democratic Action. On 25 April 1993 COPEI held

open primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

elections to choose a presidential candidate for the

1993 Venezuelan presidential election General elections were held in Venezuela on 5 December 1993.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p555 The presidential elections were won by Rafael Caldera of National Convergence, who received 30.5% of ...

; almost 20% of Venezuela's then 9.8 million voters participated in the primary. Fernández lost to the Governor of Zulia,

Oswaldo Álvarez Paz Oswaldo Álvarez Paz (born February 10, 1943) is a Venezuelan politician. He was born in Maracaibo, Zulia and graduated in law from the University of Zulia. He was a Member of the Republic's Congress for over 20 years (periods from 1966 to 199 ...

, who had resigned his position as Governor to run. Fernández again sought the COPEI presidential nomination for the

1998 Venezuelan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 6 December 1998. The main candidates were Hugo Chávez, a career military officer who led a coup d'état against then-president Carlos Andrés Pérez in 1992; and former Carabobo Governor Henriqu ...

, this time losing to

Irene Saez Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

Other activities

* President of the Aristides Calvani International Training Center - IFEDEC. * President of the Venezuelan think tank, Fundación Pensamiento y Acción, and was President of the Madrid-based center for political education, Fundación Popular Iberoamericana, for a number of years. * Member of Board of Trustees of the

Universidad Metropolitana The Metropolitan University ( es, Universidad Metropolitana) (Unimet) is a Venezuelan university founded in 1970 by a group of entrepreneurs led by Eugenio Mendoza Goiticoa in the terrains donated by the businessman Pius Schlageter, father of ...

in Caracas * Member of the Board of Regents of the

Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración The Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (''Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration'', IESA) is a private non-profit Venezuelan business school with campuses in Caracas, Maracaibo and Valencia, Carabobo, Valencia. It was found ...

(IESA).

References

External links

*
Confesiones del último Tigre: Chávez repite los errores del pasado
- interview *
Fernández' blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Eduardo Living people 1940 births Politicians from Caracas Copei politicians Andrés Bello Catholic University alumni Georgetown University alumni Andrés Bello Catholic University faculty Members of the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies