Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Wolfgang Enrique Larrazábal Ugueto (; 5 March 1911 – 27 February 2003) was 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 naval officer and politician. He served as

President of Venezuela The president of Venezuela (), officially known as the president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (), is the executive head of state and head of government of Venezuela. The president leads the National Executive of the Venezuelan go ...

following the overthrow of

Marcos Pérez Jiménez Marcos Evangelista Pérez Jiménez (25 April 1914 – 20 September 2001) was a Venezuelan military officer and the dictator of Venezuela from 1950 to 1958, ruling as member of the military junta from 1950 to 1952 and as president from 1952 t ...

in the 23 January 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état, standing down later that year.

Biography

Early life

Larrazábal was born on 5 March 1911 in

Carúpano Carúpano is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. It is located on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast at the opening of two valleys, some 120 km east of the capital of Sucre, Cumaná. He attended the Colegio Libertado in

Maracaibo Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is List of cities in Venezuela by population ...

. Described by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' as "the well-mannered scion of an old naval family", in 1928, Larrazábal enrolled in the Military Academy of the Bolivarian Navy.

Military career

Larrazábal was commissioned into the

Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela The Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela (), commonly known as the Venezuelan Navy, is the naval branch of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. The Venezuelan Navy serves the purpose of defending the naval sovereignty of Venezuela, includ ...

in 1932. In 1938 to 1939, Larrazábal joined the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

ARA ''Presidente Sarmiento'' on a voyage to

circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magellan Exped ...

the world. He completed a naval command course at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. In 1945, he was named assistant director of the Military Academy of the Bolivarian Navy. From 1949 to 1952, he served as

naval attaché A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

in the Embassy of Venezuela, Washington, D.C., by which time he held the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In 1952, he was appointed president of the National Sports Institute. In 1955, Larrazábal was appointed director of the Caracas Military Circle. In July of that year, he served as a judge for the

Miss World 1955 Miss World 1955 was the fifth Miss World pageant, held at the Lyceum Ballroom in London, United Kingdom on 20 October 1955. At the end of the event, English actress Eunice Gayson crowned Susana Duijm of Venezuela as Miss World 1955. This is ...

pageant which took place in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. In July 1957, Larrazábal was promoted to rear admiral and named chief of staff of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela. In January 1958, he was named supreme commander of the Navy by president Marcos Pérez Jiménez, making him Venezuela's highest ranking military officer. At this time, Larrazábal was known as "a quiet man, more a conformist than a conspirator".

Presidency

After popular unrest and a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

broke out, on 22 January 1958 Larrazábal wrote to Pérez on behalf of the Venezuelan chiefs of staff demanding his resignation. After Pérez fled the country, Larrazábal became on 23 January 1958 as the head of a

military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...

, the ''Junta Militar de Gobierno'', comprising himself, colonel Roberto Cassanova, colonel Pedro Quevedo, colonel Carlo Araque, and colonel Romero Villate. On 26 January, in response to public pressure, he expanded the junta to a seven-member group, adding industrialist Eugenic Mendoza and academic Bias Lamberti. After taking power, Larrazábal promised to hold free elections as soon as possible and guaranteed political freedoms and foreign investments. He became "very popular among average Venezuelans for his folksy charisma, populist political views, and the generous welfare benefits offered under his government." Larrazábal's government increased the tax on oil profits from 50% (the rate set in 1946) to 60%, angering the petroleum industry. The United States initially regarded Larrazábal's government as having "moderate conservative and strong pro-American tendencies". Larrazábal (seated right) meeting with Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon in May 1958.">Richard_Nixon.html" ;"title="Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon">Vice President of the United States Richard Nixon in May 1958. Following the attack on Richard Nixon's motorcade in May 1958, in response to the movement of American military forces into the region, Larrazábal pledged the Nixon party would be "protected fully" thereafter. After Nixon's departure from Venezuela, Larrazábal declined to condemn the attack, saying that he would have joined the protests if he were a student. In June 1958, ''Time'' noted that Larrazábal "has gone perplexingly out of his way to be kind to Communists", quoting Larrazábal as having said: "Maybe I am naïve. But I feel our

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

is a different Communism. Because of his rich patriotic heritage, no Venezuelan would accept orders from abroad." Larrazábal supported

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

in the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

by facilitating the supply of weapons to Castro's forces in the

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view i ...

as well as providing a haven for the Cuban government-in-exile. On 5 July 1958, army general Jesús María Castro León was appointed

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

. Upon his appointment, he presented Larrazábal with a note of grievances against the junta, which was interpreted as an ultimatum. On 23 July, a plot to kidnap Larrazábal was uncovered. After the plot was foiled, on 24 July Castro resigned and went into exile in

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

. In September 1958, Larrazábal survived a second coup attempt. In September 1958, Larrazábal met with residents of

23 de Enero 23 de Enero is a parish located in the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality west of the city of Caracas, Venezuela. The parish receives its name from the date of the 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état which overthrew dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez. Hist ...

who were calling for rent reductions. Subsequently, the Banco Obrero reduced rents and expanded its mortgage program. In October 1958, Larrazábal's government approved the construction of

El Helicoide El Helicoide is a building in Caracas, Venezuela owned by the Venezuelan government and used as a facility and prison for both regular and political prisoners of the Bolivarian Intelligence Service, Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEB ...

after its developers agreed to hire a large number of unemployed people for the project. In October 1958, Larrazábal was amongst the signatories of the

Puntofijo Pact The Puntofijo Pact was a formal arrangement arrived at between representatives of Venezuela's three main political parties in 1958, Acción Democrática (AD), COPEI (Social Christian Party), and Unión Republicana Democrática (URD), for the ...

, which saw all the main political parties in Venezuela commit to respecting the outcome of the 7 December 1958 Venezuelan general election. Larrazábal resigned on 14 November 1958, to run in the general election; he was succeeded by

Edgar Sanabria Edgar Sanabria Arcia (; 3 October 1911 – 24 April 1989) was a Venezuelan lawyer, diplomat, and politician. He served as the acting president of Venezuela from 1958 to 1959. Biography He was born in Caracas to his parents Gorge Sanabria Bruzal ...

as interim president. He was formally supported by the

Democratic Republican Union The Democratic Republican Union (, URD) is a Venezuelan political party founded in 1945. History When the party appeared on course to win the 1952 election for a constituent assembly, then-dictator Marcos Pérez Jiménez suspended the elect ...

and the

Communist Party of Venezuela The Communist Party of Venezuela (, PCV) is a communist party in Venezuela. Founded in 1931, it is the oldest active political party in Venezuela, and was the country's main leftist party until it fractured into rival factions in 1971. The P ...

; he was also covertly supported by the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. By this time, the United States did not wish to see Larrazábal elected and tacitly supported his rivals, former president

Rómulo Betancourt Rómulo Ernesto Betancourt Bello (22 February 1908 – 28 September 1981; ), known as "The Father of Venezuelan Democracy", was a Venezuelan politician who served as the president of Venezuela, from and again from Second presidency of Rómulo ...

of the

Democratic Action Party The Democratic Action Party (DAP; ) is a social democracy, social democratic and Secularism, secular political party in Malaysia, sitting on the Centre-left politics, centre-left of the political spectrum. As one of four component parties of ...

and

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 ...

of Copei. Larrazábal ultimately lost to Betancourt, receiving 34.61% of the vote to Betancourt's 49.18%. Larrazábal defeated Betancourt by a five-to-one margin in

, but performed more poorly in the rural vote. Following the election, Larrazábal made a "sportsmanlike concession of defeat"; after violent protests broke out, he appealed for the election results to be respected in addresses broadcast on television and radio.

Later life

In January 1959, Larrazábal met with Fidel Castro, who had been invited to Venezuela by the student government of the

Central University of Venezuela Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

to celebrate the anniversary of Pérez being deposed. During his visit, Castro expressed gratitude to Larrazábal for his support for the Cuban Revolution. In 1959, Larrazábal was appointed as Ambassador of Venezuela to Chile, described by ''Time'' as "semi-exile". In 1962, during '' El Carupanazo'', Larrazábal wrote to Betancourt from Chile assuring him that the Navy would never revolt against a democratically-elected government. His term as Ambassador ended in 1963. Forming a new party, the Popular Democratic Front (

Jóvito Villalba Jóvito Villalba Gutiérrez (March 23, 1908 – July 8, 1989), was a Venezuelan lawyer and politician, member of the Generation of 1928, founder of the party Unión Republicana Democrática, URD (''Democratic Republican Union'') and signer o ...

having been selected as the candidate of the Democratic Republican Union), he stood for president in the

1963 Venezuelan general election General elections were held in Venezuela on 1 December 1963.Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II'', p555 The presidential elections were won by Raúl Leoni of the Democratic Action political party, who r ...

but lost to

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 ...

of the Democratic Action Party, receiving 9.43% of the vote. He declined any position in Leoni's government. From 1964 to 1969, Larrazábal served as a

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

. In 1969, president Rafael Caldera appointed him Ambassador of Venezuela to Canada, a position he held until 1973. In 1973, Larrazábal supported the presidential campaign of Lorenzo Fernández. He served a second term as senator from 1974 to 1979. Larrazábal died from

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

on 27 February 2003 at the age of 91 in his home in Caracas.

References

External links

Wolfgang Larrazábal at EfemeridesVenezolanas.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larrazabal, Wolfgang 1911 births 2003 deaths Ambassadors of Venezuela to Canada Ambassadors of Venezuela to Chile Deaths from respiratory failure Democratic Republican Union politicians Leaders who took power by coup Members of the Senate of Venezuela People from Carúpano Presidents of Venezuela Venezuelan admirals Venezuelan people of Basque descent