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Alí Rodríguez Araque
Alí Rodríguez Araque
	Alí Rodríguez in 2011
Venezuelan Ambassador to Cuba
	In office; 1 September 2014 – 19 November 2018
Preceded by	Edgardo Antonio Ramírez
Succeeded by	TBA
Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations
	In office; 11 June 2012 – 31 July 2014
Preceded by	María Emma Mejía Vélez
Succeeded by	Ernesto Samper
Minister of Finance of Venezuela
	In office; June 2008 – January 2010
President	Hugo Chavez
Preceded by	Rafael Isea
Succeeded by	Jorge Giordani
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela
	In office; 20 November 2004 – 7 August 2006
President	Hugo Chavez
Preceded by	Jesús Pérez
Succeeded by	Nicolás Maduro
22nd Secretary General of OPEC
	In office; 1 January 2001 – 30 June 2002
Preceded by	Rilwanu Lukman
Succeeded by	Álvaro Silva Calderón
Personal details
Born	9 September 1937; Ejido, Mérida, Venezuela
Died	19 November 2018 (aged 81); Havana, Cuba
Political party	PPT
Profession	Politician, diplomat, lawyer

Alí Rodríguez Araque (9 September 1937 – 19 November 2018)^[1] was a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, and diplomat.^[2] He was the leader of the political party Patria Para Todos ("Fatherland for All") and occupied various positions in the government of President Hugo Chávez, such as oil advisor, General Secretary of OPEC, President of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Minister of External Relations and Ambassador to Cuba. He was appointed as Minister of Finance in June 2008.^[3] His last occupation was Ambassador of Venezuela in Cuba since 2014 until his death in 2018.

Career

Born in Ejido, Mérida, he received his legal certification from Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas in 1961. He studied economics, specialising in crude oil^{[citation needed]}; he wrote several works about the energy sector.^{[citation needed]}

During the 1960s and early 1970s, he was active in the Marxist guerrilla movement operating in Venezuela.^{[citation needed]} He was known as "Commander Fausto", allegedly acting as an explosives expert. He was one of the last guerrilla fighters to put down arms, after the so-called "appeasement" policy (Pacificación) signaled the end of the armed insurgency.^{[citation needed]} He was pardoned and became involved in parliamentary politics, and was elected to the then National Congress.^{[citation needed]} He was minister of energy of Venezuela from 1999, when Chávez took office, until 2000.

In 2000 he was elected secretary-general of OPEC and served from January 2001 to July 2002. He then became president of Venezuela's state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), where he masterminded the firing of more than 20,000 workers in response to their part in the company's leading role in the Venezuelan general strike of 2002-2003. He remained in that position until November 2004 when Chávez appointed him foreign minister in a cabinet reshuffle. On 1 September 2006, Rodríguez was appointed as Ambassador of Venezuela to Cuba.^[4] Later he served some time as Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela for the Andean region in Venezuela^[5] before being appointed as Minister of Finance by Chávez on 15 June 2008.^[6] He died in Havana on 19 November 2018 at the age of 81.^[7]

References

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 October 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Alí Rodríguez Araque: El diplomático y revolucionario de las montañas" (in Spanish). PSUV. 2 March 2013. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
^ "Ministerio del Poder Popular para Economía y Finanzas - Galería". 26 April 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2010.
^ "Ex canciller Rodríguez será nuevo embajador venezolano en Cuba". Archived from the original on 2 September 2007. Retrieved 2 September 2006.
^ Últimas Noticias, Monday, 16 June 2008, p. 12
^ Reporte diario de la economía, Monday, 16 June 2008, p. 19
^ "Murió en Cuba Alí Rodríguez, uno de los históricos del chavismo". 19 November 2018.

External links

Preceded by Rilwanu Lukman	Secretary General of OPEC January 2001 – July 2002	Succeeded by Álvaro Silva Calderón
Preceded by Jesús Pérez	184th Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs 20 November 2004 – 7 August 2006	Succeeded by Nicolás Maduro
Preceded by Rafael Isea	Venezuelan Minister of Finance June 2008 – January 2010	Succeeded by Jorge Giordani