Wolfgang Larrazábal
Wolfgang Larrazábal | |
|---|---|
 Wolfgang Larrazábal | |
| President of Venezuela | |
| In office 23 January 1958 – 14 November 1958 | |
| Preceded by | Marcos Pérez Jiménez |
| Succeeded by | Edgar Sanabria |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wolfgang Enrique Larrazábal Ugueto 5 March 1911 Carúpano, Sucre state, Venezuela |
| Died | 27 February 2003 (aged 91) Caracas, Venezuela |
| Political party | Democratic Republican Union |
| Spouse | Mercedes María Peláez (died 2002) |
| Signature |  |
Rear Admiral Wolfgang Enrique Larrazábal Ugueto (Spanish pronunciation: [bolfˈɣaŋg laraˈsaβal]; 5 March 1911 – 27 February 2003) was a Venezuelan naval officer and politician. He served as the president of Venezuela following the overthrow of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in the 23 January 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état.
Biography[edit]
Described by Time as "the well-mannered scion of an old naval family", Larrazábal served in the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela. He held posts including serving as naval attaché in the Embassy of Venezuela, Washington, D.C. and heading the Caracas Military Club. In January 1958, he was named Supreme Commander of the Navy by president Marcos Pérez Jiménez.[1]
After the overthrow of Pérez, Larrazábal became president of Venezuela on 23 January 1958 as the head of a seven-member military junta comprising himself, four colonels, industrialist Eugenic Mendoza, and academic Bias Lamberti.[2][1] After taking power, Larrazábal promised to hold free elections as soon as possible[1] and guaranteed political freedoms and foreign investments.[3]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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 is a different Communism. Because of his rich patriotic heritage, no Venezuelan would accept orders from abroad."[6]
Larrazábal resigned on November 14, 1958, to run in the 7 December 1958 Venezuelan general election; he was succeeded by Edgar Sanabria as interim president.[2][7] He was formally supported by the Democratic Republican Union and the Communist Party of Venezuela;[8] he was also covertly supported by the Soviet Union.[7] He lost to former president Rómulo Betancourt of the Democratic Action Party, receiving 34.61% of the vote to Betancourt's 49.18%.[9] Following the election, Larrazábal made a "sportsmanlike concession of defeat".[10]
Larrazábal was subsequently appointed as Ambassador of Venezuela to Chile, described by Time as "semi-exile".[11] He stood for president in the 1963 Venezuelan general election under the Popular Democratic Front banner but received only 9.43% of the vote, losing to Raúl Leoni of the Democratic Action Party.[9]
See also[edit]
- Presidents of Venezuela
- List of Venezuelans
- 1958 Venezuelan coup d'état
- Attack on Richard Nixon's motorcade
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "The Hemisphere: Proceed with Caution". Time. 3 February 1958. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ a b "15. Venezuela (1913-present)". University of Central Arkansas. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "First Week of Freedom". Time. 10 February 1958. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Troops Arrive to Help Nixon". Ironwood Daily Globe. Associated Press. 13 May 1958. Retrieved 14 March 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Drinot, Paulo (2010). Che's Travels: The Making of a Revolutionary in 1950s Latin America. Duke University Press. pp. 166–167. ISBN 978-0-8223-9180-7. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Venezuela: The Different Communists". Time. 30 June 1958. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ a b Levin, Dov H. (2016). "Partisan electoral interventions by the great powers: Introducing the PEIG Dataset". Conflict Management and Peace Science. 36 (1): 88–106. doi:10.1177/0738894216661190. ISSN 0738-8942. S2CID 157114479.
- ^ "Venezuela: The Admiral & the Reds". Time. 30 June 1958. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ a b Nohlen, Dieter (2005). Elections in the Americas: a Data Handbook. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. p. 555. ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3.
- ^ "Venezuela: Victory from Underground". Time. 22 December 1958. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ "Venezuela: Welcome Home". Time. 25 January 1963. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
External links[edit]
- (in Spanish) Wolfgang Larrazábal at EfemeridesVenezolanas.com
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Acting / interim / caretaker presidents shown in italics 1 Recognized by the National Assembly as "interim president" during the Venezuelan presidential crisis until 2023 | ||
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