| Jorge Rodríguez | |
| Office: | 12th President of the National Assembly of Venezuela |
| Status: | Incumbent (contested) |
| Termstart: | 5 January 2021 |
| 1Blankname: | Disputed with |
| 1Namedata: | Dinorah Figuera |
| Predecessor: | Luis Parra |
| Office1: | Deputy of the National Assembly for the Capital District |
| Term Start1: | 5 January 2021 |
| Office2: | Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information |
| Term Start2: | 3 November 2017 |
| Term End2: | 4 September 2020 |
| President2: | Nicolás Maduro |
| Predecessor2: | Ernesto Villegas |
| Successor2: | Freddy Ñáñez |
| Office3: | 5th Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality |
| Term Start3: | 1 December 2009 |
| Term End3: | 3 November 2017 |
| Predecessor3: | Freddy Bernal |
| Successor3: | Luis Lira (acting) |
| Office4: | Vice President of Venezuela |
| President4: | Hugo Chávez |
| Term Start4: | 8 January 2007 |
| Term End4: | 3 January 2008 |
| Predecessor4: | Jose Vicente Rangel |
| Successor4: | Ramón Carrizales |
| Office5: | President of the National Electoral Council |
| Term Start5: | 2005 |
| Term End5: | 2006 |
| Predecessor5: | Francisco Carrasquero |
| Successor5: | Tibisay Lucena |
| Birth Name: | Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez |
| Birth Date: | 9 November 1965 |
| Birth Place: | Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela |
| Party: | United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) (from 2007) Fifth Republic Movement (until 2007) |
| Alma Mater: | Central University of Venezuela |
| Parents: | Jorge Antonio Rodríguez (father; 1942-1976) |
| Children: | Lucía Rodríguez Héctor Rodríguez Matías Rodríguez |
| Relatives: | Delcy Rodríguez (sister) |
Jorge Jesús Rodríguez Gómez (born 9 November 1965) is a Venezuelan politician and psychiatrist serving as President of the National Assembly of Venezuela since 2021. He previously served as the vice president of Venezuela from 2007 to 2008 and as Mayor of the Libertador Bolivarian Municipality from 2009 to 2017. He is the brother of Delcy Rodríguez, the current vice president.
Rodríguez was elected as president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, after being nominated by the Great Patriotic Pole on 5 January 2021. Rodríguez will direct the first year of the 5th Legislature of the National Assembly, which resulted from elections held on 6 December 2020.[1] [2] [3]
He was born in Barquisimeto. Prior to his appointment as vice-president, Rodríguez had been the chief of Venezuela's National Electoral Council.
On 3 January 2007 President Hugo Chávez announced that Rodríguez would be the next vice president, replacing José Vicente Rangel.[4] He was sworn in on 8 January, two days before Chávez's swearing in for his next term as president.
Rodríguez studied medicine at the Central University of Venezuela (UCV); he was the president of the Federation of University Centers in 1988. After graduating, he studied psychiatry at the UCV and community clinical psychology at the Andrés Bello Catholic University.[4]
He headed the government's campaign in favor of a group of constitutional amendments in the December 2007 referendum. Following the defeat of the referendum, Chávez announced on 3 January 2008 that he was replacing Rodríguez with Ramón Carrizales, previously the Minister of Housing. Chávez said that Rodríguez would concentrate on developing the new United Socialist Party of Venezuela.[5]
In the November 2008 regional elections, Rodríguez was elected as Mayor of the Libertador District in Caracas.
Rodríguez has been sanctioned by several countries and is banned from entering neighboring Colombia.
On 22 September 2017, Canada sanctioned Rodríguez due to rupture of Venezuela's constitutional order following the 2017 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election.[6] [7]
In January 2019, Rodríguez was one of over 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime", who were banned from entering the Colombia.[8] [9]
The United States sanctioned Rodriguez on 25 September 2018 for his efforts in solidifying President Maduro's power in Venezuela.[10]
His father, Jorge Antonio Rodríguez, was a leader in the Socialist League of Venezuela. He was arrested in 1976 as a suspect in the kidnapping by guerrillas of, vice-president of the Owens-Illinois Venezuela, and tortured to death by the police. [11] [12] His sister, Delcy Rodríguez, has also served as a senior official during the Maduro administration.[13]