The list below includes interim "caretaker" as well as regular
serving presidents, and democratically installed presidents as well as those installed by other means (e.g.;
Marcos Pérez Jiménez).
State of Venezuela (1830–1864) United States of Venezuela (1864–1953) Following the end of the
Federal War the Treaty of Coche was signed which provided for the drafting of a new federalist constitution. A constituent assembly was assembled in La Victoria which drafted the document and a new Congress assembled in December of 1863.
Republic of Venezuela (1953–1999) Venezuela took the name of
Republic of Venezuela () with the adoption of the 1953 constitution, written by the Constituent Assembly elected in November 1952. The Presidents of Venezuela under this constitution (as well as the 1961 Constitution, which kept the name) were officially styled as President of the Republic of Venezuela. This period of the history of Venezuela began with the dictatorship of
Marcos Pérez Jiménez. After a short period of political instability following Pérez Jiménez's exile in 1958, democracy was restored in the country with the election of
Democratic Action leader
Rómulo Betancourt as president in 1959. This marked the beginning of the democratic period, started with the
Puntofijo Pact and which was characterized by the prevalence of the
bipartidism of the two main political parties in the country at the time,
Democratic Action and
Copei. The
second presidency of Carlos Andrés Pérez (1989–93) saw a deep economic crisis, a series of major riots known as the
Caracazo in 1989, in which hundreds were killed by security forces,
two coup attempts in 1992, and the 1993 impeachment of Pérez. That same year,
Rafael Caldera became the first President of Venezuela not to belong to either Democratic Action or Copei in over forty years, having been elected under the banner of
National Convergence. The bipartidism ended in 2000 when a
new constitution entered in force.
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (1999–present) Venezuela became the
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela () with the adoption of the
1999 constitution, which renamed the country in honor of
Simón Bolívar. The new constitution was promulgated by President
Hugo Chávez, who served from 1999 until his death in 2013. The new constitution augmented the presidential term from five years to six years. Chávez's presidency was interrupted shortly in 2002 following a failed
coup attempt that put
Pedro Carmona in office for a day. After government-loyal forces ousted Carmona from
Miraflores,
Vice President Diosdado Cabello executive control for a couple of hours until Chávez could be restored. In 2009, a
constitutional referendum approved the elimination of term limits, which allowed Chávez to be re-elected again in
2012. However, Chávez
died in March 2013, only three months into his fourth term, and was succeeded by his Vice President
Nicolás Maduro, who was
elected the following month to finish Chávez's term, enforcing the majority of Chávez's
economic policies. Under Maduro, Venezuela has seen a rise in
unemployment, shortages of goods, closures of several corporations, and the deterioration of productivity. Maduro – who has seen a sharp decline in his approval ratings in correlation to the economic collapse, and was the subject of a 2016 recall referendum to remove him from office that was later suspended – has been criticized for what opponents consider to be him
backsliding the country towards a full-fledged authoritarian regime; this led to an ongoing
constitutional crisis stemming from a March 2017 ruling by the
Supreme Tribunal of Justice (whose members largely consist of Maduro supporters) that removed immunity for
National Assembly members (including those opposing Maduro), which subsequently made a brief assumption of legislative powers from the Assembly, and the
Constituent Assembly election, which resulted in the formation of a
Constituent Assembly intended to rewrite the 1999 constitution. These actions have worsened tensions and sparked violence during protests against the Maduro administration over concerns that Maduro would eliminate or significantly erode the independence of Venezuela's democratic institutions and shift the country towards
one-man rule.
Disputed The process and results of the May
2018 Venezuelan presidential election were widely disputed. The opposition-majority
National Assembly declared Maduro a "usurper" of the presidency on the day of his
second inauguration and disclosed a plan to set forth its president,
Juan Guaidó as the succeeding
acting President of the country under article 233 of the
Venezuelan Constitution. A week later, the
Supreme Tribunal of Justice declared that the presidency of the National Assembly was the "usurper" of authority and declared the body to be unconstitutional. Special meetings of the OAS on 24 January and in the
United Nations Security Council on 26 January were held but no consensus was reached.
Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres called for dialogue. During the 49th
General Assembly of the Organization of American States, on 27 June, Guaidó's presidency was recognized by the organization. Guaidó was declared acting president and swore himself in on 23 January. Maduro's government has accused the
United States of organizing a ''
coup d'état'' to remove him and take control of
the country's oil reserves. Guaidó rejects the characterization of his actions as a coup, saying that his movement is backed by peaceful volunteers. As of June 2019, Guaidó was
recognized as the acting President of Venezuela by 54 countries. Internationally, support has followed traditional geopolitical lines, with allies China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Syria, and Turkey supporting Maduro; and the US, Canada, and most of Western Europe supporting Guaidó as acting president. The
United Nations continued to recognize the Maduro presidency as the legal representative of
Venezuela as of December 2019. On 22 December 2022, the Venezuelan opposition held an initial vote to remove Guaidó's interim government from its leadership and on 30 December 2022, three of the four main opposition political parties (
Justice First,
Democratic Action and
A New Era) approved a reform to dissolve the interim government and instead create a commission of five members to manage foreign assets, stating the failure of the interim government to achieve the goals it had set. The amendment was voted by the opposition as deputies sought a united strategy ahead of the
presidential elections in 2024 with the reform approved with 72 votes in favor, 29 against and 8 abstentions, thus dissolving the Guaidó government effective 5 January 2023. == Timeline ==