Rafael Caldera

President of Venezuela

Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez 24 January 1916 San Felipe del Rey, Venezuela

24 December 2009(2009-12-24) (93) Caracas, Venezuela

2 February 1994 – 2 February 1999

Venezuelan politician, twice President of Venezuela In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Caldera and the second or maternal family name is Rodríguez. Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez (Spanish pronunciation:  ( listen  (help ·info ) ); 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009), twice elected President of Venezuela, served for two five-year terms (1969–1974 and 1994–1999), becoming the longest serving democratically elected leader to govern the country in the twentieth century. His first term marked the first peaceful transfer of power to an opposition in Venezuela's history. Widely acknowledged as one of the founders of Venezuela's democratic system, one of the main architects of the 1961 Constitution, and a pioneer of the Christian Democratic movement in Latin America, Caldera helped forge an unprecedented period of civilian democratic rule in a country beleaguered by a history of political violence and military caudillos. His leadership established Venezuela's reputation as one of the more stable democracies in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century. After graduating with a degree in law and political science from Central University of Venezuela in 1939, Caldera embarked on a 70-year long career that combined political, intellectual and academic activities.