Juan Oropeza Riera (24 April 1906 – 29 November 1971) was 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 lawyer, diplomat, writer, educator and political scientist. He was born in Carora in the state of

Lara Lara may refer to: Places * Lara (state), a state in Venezuela *Electoral district of Lara, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia * Lara, Antalya, an urban district in Turkey * Lara, Victoria, a township in Australia * Lara de los In ...

, and was the younger brother of pediatrics pioneer, Pastor Oropeza Riera.

Biography

In his youth, he opposed the dictatorial regime of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Juan Vicente Gómez Juan Vicente Gómez Chacón (24 July 1857 – 17 December 1935) was a Venezuelan military general, Politician and ruler of Venezuela from 1908 until his death in 1935. He was president on three occasions during this time, ruling through puppe ...

and became a member of the student-led movement called "

Generation of 1928 The Generation of 1928 (Spanish: ''Generación del 28'') was a group of Venezuelan students who led protests in Caracas in 1928 against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. Members and exile Many politicians prominent in Venezuela's transi ...

". He was imprisoned and eventually sent into exile with some of the other group members. In 1931, he worked as a correspondent for Élite Magazine in Madrid, Spain. Upon his return to Venezuela he became a founding member of Acción Democrática, one of the two most prominent political parties in the nation's republican history, alongside such important figures as

Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa (14 March 1902 – 22 April 1993), was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and Minister of Education in its first government (1947–1948), he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoratio ...

Mariano Picón Salas Mariano Federico Picón Salas was a Venezuelan diplomatic, cultural critic and writer of the 20th century, born in Mérida, Mérida, Mérida (Mérida State) on January 26, 1901, and died in Caracas on January 1, 1965. Among his books, his collecti ...

and later Venezuelan President

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was the president of Venezuela, serving from 1945 to 1948 and again from 1959 to 1964, as well as leader of Acción De ...

. In 1944, he married Venezuelan Alicia Sosa in the state of Sonora, Mexico, in 1944. After the coup d'état that ousted Isaias Medina Angarita, he became the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

Universidad Central de Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in ...

(Central University of Venezuela) and was subsequently appointed Venezuela's ambassador to the United Kingdom under President

Rómulo Gallegos Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire (2 August 1884 – 5 April 1969) was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of nine months during 1948, he governed as the first freely elected president in Venezuela's history. He was ...

's term. He took up Paris as his permanent residence during the dictatorship of

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military and general officer of the Army of Venezuela and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 19 ...

, where he befriended such personalities as poet

Paul Éluard Paul Éluard (), born Eugène Émile Paul Grindel (; 14 December 1895 – 18 November 1952), was a French poet and one of the founders of the Surrealist movement. In 1916, he chose the name Paul Éluard, a matronymic borrowed from his maternal ...

, writers

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

Nicolás Guillén Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 17 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist, political activist, and writer. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba.

Miguel Ángel Asturias Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales (; October 19, 1899 – June 9, 1974) was a Nobel Prize-winning Guatemalan poet-diplomat, novelist, playwright and journalist. Asturias helped establish Latin American literature's contribution to mainstream W ...

and painters

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

Marie Laurencin Marie Laurencin (31 October 1883 – 8 June 1956) was a French painter and printmaker. She became an important figure in the Parisian avant-garde as a member of the Cubists associated with the Section d'Or. Biography Laurencin was born in Paris ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

. In the 1960s, he continued his duties as the Venezuelan ambassador in Paris for

's administration. During that time, he was also chosen to represent Venezuela as its ambassador before

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and, during

Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Otero (26 April 1905 – 5 July 1972) was the president of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He was a member of the Generation of 1928 and a charter member of the Acción Democrática party, and the first Labor minister of Venezuela (d ...

's presidency, was assigned to the position of Venezuelan ambassador in Bogotá, Colombia, the highest honor any Venezuelan diplomatic official can achieve. He received the ''Orden del Libertador'' (first class) and the ''Orden Francisco de Miranda'', as well as the ''

Orden del Águila Azteca The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 19 ...

'' (Mexico) in recognition for his outstanding academic skills. He was an arts and literature professor at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. Some of his literary works include: ''Sucre'', ''Cuatro siglos de historia venezolana'', ''En perpetua fuga'', ''Sobre Inglaterra y los ingleses'', ''Imparidad del destino americano'', ''Breve Historia de Venezuela'', ''Fronteras'' and ''Del tiempo en que vivimos''. Juan Oropeza died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in Caracas on 29 November 1971, at the age of 65. {{DEFAULTSORT:Oropeza People from Lara (state) Venezuelan male writers Venezuelan diplomats Deaths from cancer in Venezuela Ambassadors of Venezuela to Colombia Permanent Delegates of Venezuela to UNESCO Democratic Action (Venezuela) politicians 1971 deaths 1906 births Ambassadors of Venezuela to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Venezuela to France Prisoners and detainees of Venezuela Generation of 1928 Members of the Venezuelan Constituent Assembly of 1946