Hugo Chávez

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.