Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño (born August 4, 1963) 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 ...

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, and diplomat. He joined the board of Venezuelan state-owned

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

company

PDVSA Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (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 production ...

in 2002 and served as company president from 2004 to 2014. He also served as Venezuela's Minister of Energy from 2002 to 2014. He was the longest-serving cabinet member under President Hugo Chávez. In 2014, he briefly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then subsequently served as Venezuela's

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in New York. Ramirez was fired as UN representative by Venezuelan president

Nicolas Maduro Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

the evening of November 28, 2017. He confirmed he had "resigned" at the request of Maduro on December 4, 2017

Life and career

Ramírez was appointed to lead the energy ministry in July 2002 by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Ramirez had been the founding president of Venezuela's ''"Enagas"'', the national regulatory agency that was set up to be responsible for establishing the national plan for

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

production and distribution. Ramírez, a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

by his

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

education, has had wide-ranging experience in the design, development, coordination, and management of engineering projects for the Venezuelan petroleum industry. Hence, Ramírez was responsible for the design, development, and promotion of national policies for natural gas. Next, he was promoted to the status of Minister of Energy and Mines, and he faced the "oil sabotage" of late 2002 and early 2003. The Ministry of Energy and Mines became Ministry of Energy and Oil in January 2005, and became the Ministry for People's Power of Oil and Mining in 2012. On November 20, 2004, Ramírez was selected as the president of the company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), a position that he has held concurrently with that of the Minister of Energy and Petroleum. Ramírez was moved to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 September 2014. After a few months he was instead appointed as Permanent Representative to the

on 26 December 2014. His appointment as Permanent Representative coincided with Venezuela taking a seat on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

on 1 January 2015. On 31 May 2017, Ramírez was elected as Chair of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization). On November 28, 2017 after weeks of differences with Venezuela's government, Ramirez was fired as Venezuela's

to the

in New York. After a week of silence from Ramirez and the Venezuelan UN Mission, on December 4, 2017 he confirmed that he had resigned from the UN post at the request of the Venezuelan president.

Professional career

* Mechanical engineer from Universidad de los Andes (ULA). * Master's degree in energy from

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 ...

(UCV).

Sanctions

The

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

sanctioned Ramírez in November 2017 as being someone who participated in "significant acts of corruption or who have been involved in serious violations of human rights". He is also banned from entering neighboring Colombia. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".

References

External links

PDVSA.com Bio

Venezuela's CITGO to Provide Cheap Gas for U.S. Hospitals, Nursing Homes and SchoolsWorld Energy Magazine – Venezuela: A Factor for Energy Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean
*http://www.guia.com.ve/noti/30003/rafael-ramirez-gana-mas-de-30000-dolares-al-mes Last known salary of Rafael Ramirez {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Rafael (Venezuela) Living people Central University of Venezuela alumni Venezuelan engineers Venezuelan defectors Government ministers of Venezuela 1963 births Permanent Representatives of Venezuela to the United Nations Venezuelan Ministers of Foreign Affairs People of the Crisis in Venezuela

Life and career

Professional career

Sanctions

See also

References

External links