President of the National Assembly of Venezuela

Last updated

President of the National Assembly
Coat of arms of Venezuela.svg
Incumbent
Disputed between Jorge Rodríguez and Dinorah Figuera
since 5 January 2023
Appointer National Assembly
Term length 1 year
Inaugural holder Willian Lara
Formation10 August 2000
DeputyFirst Vice President
Website www.asambleanacionalvenezuela.org

The president of the National Assembly (Spanish : Presidente de la Asamblea Nacional) is the presiding officer (speaker) of the National Assembly, Venezuela's unicameral legislature. The president's term coincides with the term of the legislature (five years as per constitutional convention). The post has existed since the election of the first National Assembly in 2000. Before the creation of the National Assembly with the adoption of the 1999 constitution, the country's legislature was the bicameral Congress, which contained the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The last president of the Senate was Luis Alfonso Dávila, and the last president of the Chamber of Deputies was Henrique Capriles Radonski.

Contents

Since 5 January 2019, Juan Guaidó, a member of the Popular Will (VP) party and the Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition,[ citation needed ] has been President of the National Assembly. On 5 January 2020, however, state police blocked some deputies' entry to the chambers of the National Assembly[ citation needed ] as Luis Parra was elected to be the next president of the Assembly, with Guaidó and his allies alleging the election took place without a quorum being present. However, José Noriega of the Popular Will party and second vice-president of the National Assembly stated that a sufficient number of votes were cast for a valid election. [1] Following the disputed election, two competing claims emerged over the post – one by Luis Parra and one by Juan Guaidó, with both claiming to be the legitimate President of the National Assembly. [2]

In 2020, parliamentary elections took place in Venezuela, in which, without opposition participation and amid claims for fraud and lack of transparency, Chavismo took full control of the legislature. Since January 5, 2021, the date on which the majority socialist parliament began sessions – the V Legislature, Jorge Rodríguez claims to be the president of the National Assembly, [3] while the IV Legislature, elected in 2015 and recognized by a considerable part of the international community, extended its functions through a referendum, so Juan Guaidó also continues to maintain that he leads the Venezuelan parliament. [4] By this situation, it is understood that two parliaments now operate in parallel in the country, one elected in 2015 with an opposition majority, and another elected in 2020 with a Chavista majority. [5]

Constitutional role

The president of the National Assembly's authority resides in Article 194 of the Venezuelan constitution (section 2, chapter 1, Title V: "On the Organization of the National Public Authority"), which states the deputies are to elect a president and two vice-presidents from among themselves to administer and represent the National Assembly for a period of one year. Alongside the president and the two vice-presidents, the deputies also elect a -secretary and an under-secretary. The president of the National Assembly is second in the line of succession of the president of Venezuela after the vice president, as stated in Article 233 of the constitution.

List of presidents of the National Assembly

No.PortraitName
(Birth–Death)
Term of officeStateLegislatureParty
1 Coat of arms of Venezuela (1954-2006).svg Willian Lara
(1959–2010)
10 August 20005 January 2003 Guárico 1st Fifth Republic Movement
2 Coat of arms of Venezuela (1954-2006).svg Francisco Ameliach
(born 1963)
5 January 20035 January 2005 Carabobo Fifth Republic Movement
3 Nicolas Maduro in Brasilia.jpg Nicolás Maduro
(born 1962)
5 January 20057 August 2006 Capital District 2nd Fifth Republic Movement
4 Cilia Flores 2013.jpg Cilia Flores
(born 1953)
15 August 20065 January 2011 Capital District Fifth Republic Movement
United Socialist Party
5 Coat of arms of Venezuela.svg Fernando Soto Rojas  [ es ]
(born 1933)
5 January 20115 January 2012 Falcón 3rd United Socialist Party
(GPP)
6 Diosdado Cabello 2013 cropped.jpg Diosdado Cabello
(born 1963)
5 January 20125 January 2016 Monagas United Socialist Party
(GPP)
7 Henry Ramos Allup Portrait.jpg Henry Ramos Allup
(born 1943)
5 January 20165 January 2017 Capital District 4th Democratic Action
(MUD)
8 Julio Andres Borges.png Julio Borges
(born 1969)
5 January 20175 January 2018 Miranda Justice First
(MUD)
9 Omar Barboza.png Omar Barboza
(born 1944)
5 January 20185 January 2019 Zulia A New Era
(MUD)
10 Juan Guaido in Group of Lima 2019 cropped.jpg Juan Guaidó
(born 1983)
5 January 2019 [lower-alpha 1] 5 January 2023 Vargas
(La Guaira)
Popular Will
(MUD)
11 Luis Eduardo Parra.png Luis Parra
(born 1978)
5 January 2020 [lower-alpha 2] 5 January 2021 Yaracuy Independent
(GPP)
12 2023 Jorge Rodriguez Gomez.jpg Jorge Rodríguez
(born 1965)
5 January 2021Incumbent Capital District 5th United Socialist Party
(GPP)
13 Dinorah Figuera (cropped).jpg Dinorah Figuera
(born 1961)
5 January 2023 [lower-alpha 3] Incumbent Aragua 4th Justice First
(MUD)

See also

Notes

  1. Disputed with Rodríguez from 5 January 2021 to 5 January 2023.
  2. Disputed with Guaidó.
  3. Disputed with Rodríguez from 5 January 2023.

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References

  1. Romero, Valentín (5 January 2019). "Parra fue escogido sin votos, ni quórum: Diputados opositores" (in Spanish). Noticiero Digital. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. "Two Venezuela lawmakers declare themselves Speaker". 6 January 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  3. "Venezuela Seats Pro-Maduro Congress | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  4. "Venezuela's opposition assembly approves its continuity for 2021 | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
  5. Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Venezuela: Guaidó y chavistas instalan parlamentos paralelos | DW | 05.01.2021". DW.COM (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 January 2021.