Leopoldo Sucre Figarella 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 politician and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

of Corsican ancestors. A member of the Sucre family Sucre Figarella served as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, minister and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

during his long and eventful political career. He was nicknamed "The Builder" and "The Czar of Guayana".

Biography

Early career

He was born in Tumeremo in the state of Bolivar on August 1, 1925. He received his education as a civil engineer at 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 L ...

and soon entered public service as an engineer at the

Ministry of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

in Miranda. During the 1950s, he actively opposed 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 195 ...

and had to go into hiding several times due to security concerns. In 1958 and with the fall of Pérez Jiménez, Sucre Figarella was named

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Bolivar by new president

Romulo Betancourt Romulo may refer to: People with the given name Romulo Italian * Rômulo (footballer, born 1987), Brazilian-born football player * Romulo Cincinato (1502 – circa 1593), painter Portuguese * Rómulo (footballer, born 1976), football player M ...

. There he pushed for the creation of Santo Tomé de Guayana, today known as

Ciudad Guayana Ciudad Guayana () (in English Guayana City) is a city in Bolívar State (Venezuela), Bolívar State, Venezuela. It stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco, Orinoco river, at the point where it is joined by its main tributary ...

, one of the most important and largest cities in the state. From 1960 to 1969 he served as minister of public works during the governments of Betancourt and Raul Leoni. From this position, Sucre pushed forward many important works such as the

Angostura Bridge Angostura Bridge is a suspension bridge that spans the Orinoco River at Ciudad Bolívar, Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the no ...

Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar, Venezuela, Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about ...

, the

General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge The General Rafael Urdaneta Bridge is located at the Tablazo Strait outlet of Lake Maracaibo, in western Venezuela. The bridge connects Maracaibo with much of the rest of the country. It is named after General Rafael Urdaneta, a Venezuelan hero ...

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

, the Araña highway distributor, the Tejerías-Caracas highway, the

Guri Dam The Simón Bolívar Hydroelectric Plant, also Guri Dam ( es, Central Hidroeléctrica Simón Bolívar or ''Represa de Guri''), previously known as the Raúl Leoni Hydroelectric Plant, is a concrete gravity and embankment dam in Bolívar State, Ven ...

in Bolivar, the famous Cota Mil in Caracas as well as pushing forth works on the

Caracas Metro The Caracas Metro ( es, Metro de Caracas) is a mass rapid transit system serving Caracas, Venezuela. It was constructed and is operated by Compañía Anónima Metro de Caracas, a government-owned company that was founded in 1977 by José Gonz� ...

and the expansion of the Simón Bolívar International Airport among others.

Czar of Guayana

In 1984, President

Jaime Lusinchi Jaime Ramón Lusinchi (27 May 1924 – 21 May 2014) was a Venezuelan politician who was the president of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the external debt, populist policies, currency dep ...

named him president of the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana with the rank of cabinet member. From there Sucre Figarella gave an important push to the region's development, the likes of which had not been seen previously. During this time the

project is finally completed, the

–

and

–

Upata Upata () is a Venezuelan city inside the bulk of Guayana at the north of the Bolívar State. It is the capital and most important town of Piar Municipality. It is located between the basins of the rivers Orinoco and Cuyuní. The name of Upata ...

highways are built along with other important roadworks including the completion of several bridges. He also expanded the production capacity of Sidor, Ferrominera, Venalum, Alcasa and Interalumina and created Bauxiven, Carbonorca, Proforca, Remorca and other important companies. The entire

waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

of the

Guayana region The Guayana Region is an administrative region of eastern Venezuela. History In the 1970s, after the process of forming the Political-Administrative Regions through CORDIPLAN in the government of Rafael Caldera, the Region of Guyana was f ...

was improved upon along with the health, justice, sports and agriculture infrastructure. Some, such as newspaper columnist José Ignacio Acevedo, consider Sucre Figarella's infrastructure construction to be the most useful and expansive during the whole of the democratic period in Venezuela. He would remain at the helm of the CVG during the presidencies of

and

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 ...

, finally stepping down in 1993. During his time with the CVG, he had also been elected

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the state of Bolivar for the period between 1984 and 1989. After his resignation from the state-owned company, he was elected for another period lasting between 1994 and 1999. He was unable to complete this second appointment due to his sudden death on October 17, 1996 only a few months after the death of his brother

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

Juan Manuel Sucre Figarella.

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20081005143931/http://www.analitica.com/va/sociedad/articulos/4142469.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Sucre Figarella, Leopoldo 1926 births 1996 deaths People from Bolívar (state) Central University of Venezuela alumni Venezuelan civil engineers Members of the Senate of Venezuela Government ministers of Venezuela 20th-century Venezuelan engineers