Eduardo Fernández (born 18 October 1940) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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 ...

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) was a Venezuelan politician and academician who was the 46th and 51st president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999, thus becoming the longest se ...

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

Background

Fernández gained a law degree from

Andrés Bello Catholic University Andrés Bello Catholic University () is a private university in Venezuela. One of the largest universities in Venezuela, UCAB has campuses in several cities, such as Caracas (main campus), Los Teques, Guayana Region, Guayana, and Coro region, Cor ...

in 1963, and graduate degrees in

economic development In economics, economic development (or 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 object ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

at the

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

in the Netherlands in 1965 and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

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 ''Venezuelan Spanish#Some examples of Spanish words common in Venezuela.2C including some native Venezuelanisms .28slang.29, El ...

, and was re-elected for successive terms until 1989. In 1989 he was elected President of the Christian Democrat International. Fernández was a presidential candidate for COPEI in the 1988 Venezuelan general election, losing to

of Democratic Action. On 25 April 1993 COPEI held

open primary Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

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 former president Rafael Caldera of National Convergence, who ...

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

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 () (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 the Venezuelan painter Eduard ...

in Caracas * Member of the Board of Regents of the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (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 Academic staff of Andrés Bello Catholic University Members of the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies Candidates for President of Venezuela