Isaías Medina Angarita

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Medina and the second or maternal family name is Angarita.

Isaías Medina Angarita
President of Venezuela
In office 5 May 1941 – 18 October 1945
Preceded by	Eleazar López Contreras
Succeeded by	Rómulo Betancourt
Personal details
Born	(1897-07-06)6 July 1897 San Cristóbal, Venezuela
Died	15 September 1953(1953-09-15) (aged 56) Caracas, Venezuela
Political party	Venezuelan Democratic Party
Spouse	Irma Felizola (1914-1994)

Isaías Medina Angarita (6 July 1897 – 15 September 1953) was a Venezuelan military and political leader, the president of Venezuela from 1941 until 1945, during World War II. He followed the path of his predecessor Eleazar López Contreras, and ruled the country's democratic transition process.

Career

Medina was born in San Cristóbal, Venezuela, and graduated from the Military academy of Venezuela in 1914. He served as War Minister from 1936 to 1941 under López Contreras. In 1943, he founded the Venezuelan Democratic Party. Medina Angarita was the first Venezuelan president who traveled abroad (in active office). First, in 1943 to the Bolivarian countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Panama, and in January 1944, the United States invited by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The visit marked a milestone in the Venezuelan-US relations. Besides being the first time a Venezuelan president (in office) visited the United States, the time the journey was made was understood as an expression of the alliance of Venezuela with the Allies that fought the Axis. During the administration of Medina, Venezuela established relations with China in 1943 and the Soviet Union in 1945. Some in the Army considered his presidential regime too liberal while other political enemies accused him of being too conservative, and both sides were involved in a coup to remove him from power on 18 October 1945. Medina died, aged 56, in Caracas.

Medina's cabinet (1941–1945)

Ministries
OFFICE	NAME	TERM
President	Isaías Medina Angarita	1941–1945
Home Affairs	Tulio Chiossone	1941–1942
	César González	1942–1943
	Juan Penzini Hernández	1943
	José Nicomedes Rivas	1943–1945
	Arturo Uslar Pietri	1945
Outer Relations	Caracciolo Parra Pérez	1941–1945
	Gustavo Herrera	1945
Finance	Alfredo Machado Hernández	1941–1943
	Arturo Uslar Pietri	1943
	Rodolfo Rojas	1943–1945
	Alfonso Espinoza	1945
War and Navy	Antonio Chalbaud Cardona	1941–1942
	Juan de Dios Celis Paredes	1942–1943
	Carlos Meyer Baldo	1943
	Manuel Morán	1943–1945
	Delfín Becerra	1945
Development	Enrique Jorge Aguerrevere	1941–1942
	Eugenio Mendoza	1942–1943
	Gustavo Herrera	1943–1945
	Juan de Dios Celis Paredes	1945
Public Works	Manuel Silveira	1941–1945
Education	Alejandro Fuenmayor	1941
	Gustavo Herrera	1941–1943
	Rafael Vegas	1943–1945
Work and Communications	Numa Quevedo	1941
	Ovidio Pérez Ágreda	1941–1942
	Héctor Cuenca	1942–1943
	Julio Diez	1943–1945
Agriculture	Saverio Barbarito	1941
	Rodolfo Rojas	1941–1943
	Ángel Biagini	1943–1945
Health and Social Assistance	Félix Lairet	1941–1945
Secretary of the Presidency	Arturo Uslar Pietri	1941–1943
	Ángel Biagini	1943
	Arturo Uslar Pietri	1943
	Pedro Sotillo	1943–1945

Personal life

Isaías Medina Angarita was married to Irma Felizola, who served as First Lady of Venezuela from 1941 to 1945.

• 
  Irma Felizola

See also

• Presidents of Venezuela
• List of Venezuelans

References

• (in Spanish) Isaías Medina Angarita – Venezuelatuya.com
• (in Spanish) Isaías Medina Angarita