Ministry of Defense (Venezuela) explained

Agency Name:	Ministry of People's Power for Defense
Type:	Ministry
Nativename:	Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa
Seal:	Seal of the Ministry of People's Power for Defense.svg
Picture Caption:	Ministry of Defense in Caracas.
Formed:	(as War and Navy Bureau)
Preceding6:	-->
Superseding6:	-->
Jurisdiction:	Government of Venezuela
Headquarters:	Caracas, Venezuela
Minister1 Name:	Vladimir Padrino López
Minister7 Name:	-->
Deputyminister7 Name:	-->
Chief9 Name:	-->
Keydocument6:	-->

The Venezuelan Ministry of People's Power for Defense (Spanish; Castilian: Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa) is the federal-level organization responsible for maintaining the Venezuelan armed forces. As of October 2014, this ministry is headed by General Vladimir Padrino López. The ministry coordinates numerous counter-narcotics operations (e.g., Operation Sierra through the CUFAN organ), helps perform various civil support and social development programs, and oversees the conventional military capabilities of Venezuela.

History

• 1810 Established as War and Navy Bureau
• 1863 Ministry of War
• 1874 Ministry of War and Navy
• 1946 Became Ministry of National Defense
• 1951 Name amended to Ministry of Defense
• 2007 Renamed Ministry of People's Power for Defense by presidential decree

Lists of ministers of defense

Ministers of defense of the Republic of Venezuela
	Minister	Period		President
		Beginning of term	End of term
1	Commander Lino de Clemente	1810	1812	Cristóbal Mendoza
2	Commander Lino de Clemente	1812	1812	Francisco Espejo
3	Commander Lino de Clemente	1812	1812	Francisco de Miranda
4	Commander Lino de Clemente	1813	1814
5	Tomás Montilla	1817	1821
6	Major General Pedro Briceño Méndez	1821	1825	Simón Bolívar
7	Lieutenant General Carlos Soublette	1825	1828	Simón Bolívar
8	Genera lRafael Urdaneta	1828	1829	Simón Bolívar
9	Lieutenant General Carlos Soublette	1829	1835	José Antonio Páez
10	Francisco Conde	1835	1835	José María Vargas
11	Francisco Hernáiz	1836	1836	José María Vargas
12	Francisco Hernáiz	1836	1837	Andrés Navarte
13	Guillermo Smith	1837	1839	Carlos Soublette
14	General Rafael Urdaneta	1839	1843	José Antonio Páez
15	General Rafael Urdaneta	1843	1847	Carlos Soublette
16	Francisco Mejia	1847	1851	José Tadeo Monagas
17	Francisco Mejia	1851	1855	José Gregorio Monagas
18	Francisco Mejia	1855	1858	José Tadeo Monagas
19	Domingo Hernández	1858	1859	Julián Castro
20	Domingo Hernández	1859	1861	Manuel Felipe Tovar
21	Lieutenant General Manuel Ezequiel Bruzual	1863	1864	Juan Crisóstomo Falcón
22	Major General José Ruperto Monagas	1864	1868	Juan Crisostomo Falcon
23	Major General José Ruperto Monagas	1868	1870	José Ruperto Monagas
24	José Ignacio Pulido	1870	1874	Antonio Guzmán Blanco
25	Major General Joaquín Crespo	1874	1877	Antonio Guzmán Blanco
26	Major General Ramón Guerra	1892	1894	Joaquín Crespo
27	José Ignacio Pulido	1899	1902	Cipriano Castro
28	Ramón Guerra	1902	1903	Cipriano Castro
29	José María García Gómez	1903	1903	Cipriano Castro
30	Manuel Salvador Araujo	1903	1904	Cipriano Castro
31	Joaquin Garrido	1904	1905	Cipriano Castro
32	José María García Gómez	1905	1906	Cipriano Castro
33	Brigadier Diego Bautista Ferrer (acting)	1906	1906	Cipriano Castro
34	Manuel Salvador Araujo	1906	1907	Cipriano Castro
35	Major General Diego Bautista Ferrer	1907	1908	Cipriano Castro
36	Major General Régulo Olivares	1908	1911	Juan Vicente Gómez^[1]
37	Manuel Vicente Castro Zavala	1911	1912	Juan Vicente Gómez
38	Ismael Pereira Álvarez	1912	1913	Juan Vicente Gómez
39	Victorino Márquez Bustillos	1913	1914	Juan Vicente Gómez
40	Carlos Jiménez Rebolledo	1914	1922	Victorino Márquez Bustillos
41	Carlos Jiménez Rebolledo	1922	1929	Juan Vicente Gómez
42	Brigadier Tobías Utribe	1929	1931	Juan Bautista Pérez
43	Major General Eleazar López Contreras	1931	1935	Juan Vicente Gómez
44	Brigadier Antonio Chalboud Cardona	1935	1936
45	Major General Isaias Medina Angarita	1936	1941	Eleazar López Contreras
46	Brigadier Antonio Chalboud Cardona	1941	1942
47	Major General Juan de Cios Celis Paredes	1942	1943	Isaias Medina Angarita
48	Carlos Meyer	1943	1943	Isaias Medina Angarita
49	Brigadier Manuel Morán	1943	1945	Isaias Medina Angarita
50	Major General Delfín Becerra	1945	1945	Isaias Medina Angarita
51	Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud	1945	1946
52	Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud	1946	1948	Rómulo Betancourt
53	Lieutenant Colonel Carlos Delgado Chalbaud	1948	1948	Rómulo Gallegos
54	Lieutenant Colonel Marcos Pérez Jiménez	1948	1950	Carlos Delgado Chalbaud
55	Lieutenant Colonel Marcos Pérez Jiménez	1950	1952	Germán Suárez Flamerich
56	Colonel Marcos Pérez Jiménez(acting)	1952	1953	Marcos Pérez Jiménez
57	Colonel Oscar Mazzei Carta	1953	1958
58	Major General Rómulo Fernández	1958	1958	Marcos Pérez Jiménez
59	Major General Marcos Pérez Jiménez (acting)	1958	1958	Marcos Pérez Jiménez
60	Major General Jesús Castro León	1958	1958	Rómulo Betancourt^[2]
61	Brigadier Josué López Hernández	1958	1961	Rómulo Betancourt
62	Brigadier Antonio Briceño Linares	1961	1964	Rómulo Betancourt
63	Major General Ramón Florencio Gómez	1964	1969	Raúl Leoni
64	Major General Marín García Villasmil	1969	1971	Rafael Caldera
65	Major General Jesús Carbonel Izquierdo	1971	1972	Rafael Caldera
66	Gustavo Pardi Dávila	1972	1974	Rafael Caldera
67	Homero Leal Torres	1974	1976
68	Francisco Álvarez Torres	1979	1977	Carlos Andrés Pérez
69	Francisco Paredes Bello	1977	1979	Carlos Andrés Pérez
70	Fernando Paredes Bello	1979	1979	Luis Herrera Campins
71	Luis Rangel Burgoing	1979	1980	Luis Herrera Campins
72	Tomás Abreu Rescaniere	1980	1981	Luis Herrera Campins
73	Bernardo Leal Puchi	1981	1982	Luis Herrera Campins
74	Vicente Narváez Churión	1982	1983	Luis Herrera Campins
75	Humberto Alcalde Álvarez	1983	1984	Luis Herrera Campins
76	Humberto Alcalde Álvarez	1984	1984	Jaime Lusinchi
77	Andrés Brito Martínez	1984	1986	Jaime Lusinchi
78	José Cardozo Grimaldi	1986	1987	Jaime Lusinchi
79	Major General Eliodoro Guerrero	1987	1988	Jaime Lusinchi
80	Major General Italo del Valle Alliegro	1988	1989	Jaime Lusinchi
81	Major General Italo del Valle Alliegro	1989	1989	Carlos Andrés Pérez
82	Major General Filmo López Uzcátegui	1989	1990	Carlos Andrés Pérez
83	Héctor Jurado Toro	1990	1991	Carlos Andrés Pérez
84	Fernándo Ochoa Antich	1991	1992	Carlos Andrés Pérez
85	Iván Jiménez Sánchez	1992	1993	Carlos Andrés Pérez
86	Iván Jiménez Sánchez	1993	1993	Octavio Lepage
87	Iván Jiménez Sánchez	1993	1993	Ramón J Velásquez
88	Radamés Muñoz León	1993	1993	Ramón J Velásquez
89	Rafael Montero Ravette	1993	1994	Ramón J Velásquez
90	Rafael Montero Ravette	1994	1995	Rafael Caldera
91	Moisés Orozco Graterol	1995	1996	Rafael Caldera
92	Pedro Valencia Vivas	1996	1997	Rafael Caldera
93	Rear Admiral (upper half) Tito Rincón	1997	1999	Rafael Caldera
94	Major General Raúl Salazar	1999	1999	Hugo Chávez
95	Major General Ismael Hurtado	1999	2000	Hugo Chávez
96	Major General José Vicente Rangel	2000	2002	Hugo Chávez
97		2002	2002	Hugo Chávez
98	Major General José Luis Prieto	2002	2004	Hugo Chávez
99	Lieutenant General Jorge Luis García Carneiro	2004	2005	Hugo Chávez
100	Vice Admiral Orlando Maniglia	2005	2006	Hugo Chávez
101	General Raúl Baduel	2006	2007	Hugo Chávez
102	General Gustavo Rangel Briceño	2007	2009	Hugo Chávez
103	Lieutenant General Ramón Carrizales	2009	2010	Hugo Chávez
104	General Carlos Mata Figueroa	2010	2012	Hugo Chávez
105	General Henry Rangel Silva	2012	2012	Hugo Chávez
106	Admiral Diego Molero	2012	2013	Hugo Chávez
107	Admiral Diego Molero	2013	2013	Nicolás Maduro
108	Admiral Carmen Melendez Teresa Rivas	2013	2014	Nicolás Maduro
108	General Vladimir Padrino López	2014	Present	Nicolás Maduro

See also

• Cabinet of Venezuela

External links

• Sitio oficial del Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa de Venezuela y los Ex-Ministros
• Sitio oficial del Ejército Libertador (Venezuela)
• Sitio oficial de la Armada de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela
• Sitio oficial de la Aviación Militar de Venezuela
• Sitio oficial de la Guardia Nacional de Venezuela
• Sitio oficial de la Aviación del Ejército del Venezuela

Notes and References

1. Web site: Gobierno de Juan Vicente Gómez 1908- 1935 (Venezuela). 26 May 2014. 16 December 2010. Monografias. Spanish.
2. Web site: Sitio Web del Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa. Caracas - Venezuela - Ex-Ministros . www.mindefensa.gov.ve . 12 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070513123641/http://www.mindefensa.gov.ve/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=141&Itemid=89&limit=1&limitstart=0 . 13 May 2007 . dead.