Photo: Roberto Stuckert Filho, CC BY-SA 2.0

Hugo Chávez

1954 – 2013 · died at about 59^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Hugo Chávez

• Hugo Chávez was a serious baseball player as a military cadet, reaching the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships with the Criollitos de Venezuela team, and he also wrote poetry and painted.^[3]
• During a visit to the United States in 1999, his first year as president, Chávez rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.^[3]
• After his failed 1992 coup attempt, Chávez went on television to say the rebels had failed only "por ahora" (for now), a phrase that made him a media star.^[3]
• As president, Chávez hosted his own Sunday morning radio show, Aló Presidente (Hello, President), and acted as editor-in-chief of a newspaper he founded.^[3]
• Chávez had more than 3.2 million Twitter followers by 2012, and a team of 200 people sorted through the suggestions and comments sent to him there.^[3]
• As a young cadet, Chávez became interested in Che Guevara after reading his memoir, and he later met Fidel Castro and became his friend.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}
• Hugo Chávez was alive at the same time as Albert Einstein — their lives overlapped for 1 year (1954–1955).^[1][2][8][9]
• Hugo Chávez and Joseph Stalin died on the same day of the year, March 5.^{[1][2][10][11]}

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician, revolutionary, and military officer who was the president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez changed the country's name from the Republic of Venezuela to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, creating the fifth republic in Venezuelan history and led the Bolivarian Revolution. Chávez was the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. The political ideology centered around Chávez's ideas is known as Chavismo.^[1]

Contemporaries

Nelson Mandela

59 yr overlap

Stan Lee

59 yr overlap

Margaret Thatcher

59 yr overlap

B.B. King

59 yr overlap

Fidel Castro

59 yr overlap

Gabriel García Márquez

59 yr overlap

James Watson

59 yr overlap

Maya Angelou

59 yr overlap

Chinua Achebe

59 yr overlap

Vera Rubin

59 yr overlap

Noam Chomsky

59 yr overlap

Desmond Tutu

59 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Hugo Chávez

When was Hugo Chávez born?

Hugo Chávez was born on July 28, 1954, and died on March 5, 2013.

How old was Hugo Chávez at death?

Hugo Chávez was born on July 28, 1954, and died on March 5, 2013, at age 58.

What was Hugo Chávez known for?

Hugo Chávez was known for: President of Venezuela 1999–2013. Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was a Venezuelan politician, revolutionary, and military officer who was the president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013. Chávez changed the country's name from the Republic of Venezuela to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, creating the fifth republic in Venezuelan history and led the Bolivarian Revolution. Chávez was the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until it merged with several other parties to form the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the ruling party of Venezuela since 2007. The political ideology centered around Chávez's ideas is known as Chavismo.

Who was alive at the same time as Hugo Chávez?

Hugo Chávez's closest contemporary was Nelson Mandela. Their lives overlapped for 59 years.