Henrique Capriles Radonski
| Henrique Capriles Radonski | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Governor of Miranda | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 29 November 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Diosdado Cabello |
| Mayor of Baruta | |
| In office 30 July 2000 – 26 November 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Ivonne Attas |
| Succeeded by | Gerardo Blyde |
| President of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 23 January 2000 – 28 March 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Carmelo Lauría |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 July 1972 Caracas, Venezuela |
| Political party | Justice First (2000–present) Copei (Before 2000) |
| Other political affiliations |
Coalition for Democratic Unity (2008–present) |
| Alma mater | Andrés Bello Catholic University Central University of Venezuela |
| Profession | Lawyer (commercial and tax) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic[1] |
| Website | Official website |
Henrique Capriles Radonski (born 11 July 1972) is a Venezuelan politician. From 2000 until 2008, Capriles was the mayor of Baruta Municipality of Caracas. In November 2008, Capriles was elected Governor of Miranda state, defeating Diosdado Cabello. After winning the election primaries in February 2012, Capriles became the opposition candidate for the 2012 Venezuelan presidential election.[2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Personal life
Henrique Capriles was born in Caracas on 11 July 1972.[4] His father had Dutch ancestry, while his maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland who left Europe during World War II. His grandmother's mother and father died in the Treblinka extermination camp.[5][6] Capriles describes himself as a "fervent Catholic", having become more spiritual while imprisoned in 2004.[7][8]
He studied law at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello and became a specialist in commerce law in 1994. He also studied tax law at the Central University of Venezuela,[9] and took courses at the IBFD International Tax Academy in Amsterdam, the Centro Interamericano de Administradores Tributarios in Viterbo, Italy, and Columbia University in New York. He is a member of the International Fiscal Association, as well as the World Association of Young Jurors and the Committee of Taxes of the Venezuelan American Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Venamcham). Capriles has worked in the public and private sector, including Nevett & Mezquita Abogados, Seniat, Hoet, Pelaez, Castillo & Duque (a law firm).[9]
[edit] Political life
Capriles was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Venezuela in December 1998, representing the party COPEI and becoming the youngest member of the Venezuelan parliament ever elected. He served as its Vice president until it was dissolved by the Constitutional Assembly in August 1999.
In July 2000, Capriles was elected mayor of the Baruta Municipality, representing the party Primero Justicia. He was re-elected in October 2004, receiving 79% of the vote, defeating the Chavista candidate, telenovela actor Simón Pestana.
Capriles has named former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as his political inspiration.[6]
[edit] 2008 gubernatorial election
Venezuelans who have been sentenced or are under investigation can be barred from running in elections. Capriles alleged supporters of Hugo Chavez used "Venezuela's justice system to guard against his possible victory over a ruling-party candidate" in the 2008 election. In 2006, Capriles had been acquitted on charges of fomenting violence in a siege of the Cuban embassy during the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt, but five months later, his acquittal was revoked; courts reopened the case and ordered Capriles to appear. In the 2002 incident, protesters at the Cuban embassy cut off electricity, smashed windows, and blocked the Cuban ambassador, German Sanchez Otero, from leaving. Otera claimed that Capriles "should have used his authority as the mayor of Caracas' Baruta district to disperse the crowd of angry protesters"; Capriles said "he helped avert more violence by preventing protesters from storming the Embassy".[10][11]
The U.S. Department of State mentioned Capriles' case in its 2008 Human Rights report as denial of a fair public trial.[12][13]
[edit] 2012 Presidential election
Capriles was selected in primaries held in February 2012 as the opposition candidate against Hugo Chávez in the presidential elections to be held in October 2012; he won the opposition primaries with 1,900,528 (64.2%) votes of the 3,059,024 votes cast (votes abroad not included).[14]
With the election closing Chavez and some of his supporters and allies have waged a vicious Anti-Semitic campaign against Capriles because of his Jewish ancestry. Some government publications have even photo-shopped a Star of David onto Capriles’ face.[15]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Kelemen, Jasmina (9 June 2011). "Anti-Jewish slurs hound Venezuelan presidential hopeful". jweekly.com. http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/62010/anti-jewish-slurs-hound-venezuelan-presidential-hopeful/. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ Penfold, Michael (26 January 2012). "Capriles Radonski and the new Venezuelan opposition". Foreign Affairs. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/137055/michael-penfold/capriles-radonski-and-the-new-venezuelan-opposition. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ (Spanish) "Un tsunami llamado Capriles: gana las primarias con un 60% de los votos y enfrentará a Chávez el 7-O". Noticias24 Venezuela. 13 February 2012. http://www.noticias24.com/venezuela/noticia/90901/. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ de la Rosa, Alicia (12 February 2012). "Henrique Capriles wins opposition primaries in Venezuela". El Universal. http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/primarias-2012/120212/henrique-capriles-wins-opposition-primaries-in-venezuela. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Shefler, Gil (14 February 2012). "Chavez opponent faces anti-Semitism". The Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=257697. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ a b Grainger, Sarah (13 February 2012). "Venezuela poll: Opposition candidate Henrique Capriles". BBC News. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16811723.
- ^ Kelemen, Jasmina (26 June 2011). "Venezuelan Governor new opposition to Chavez". Baltimore Jewish Times. http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/israel_news/venezuelan_governor_new_opposition_to_chavez/25633. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ Keleman, Jasmina (7 June 2011). "In Venezuela, Chavez rival demonized for his Jewish foots". The Jewish Daily Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/138398/. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ a b (Spanish) "Henrique Capriles Radonski". Alcaldia de Baruta. 2004. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070202055749/http://www.baruta.gov.ve/gerente.asp?id_gerencia=3. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ Toothaker, Christopher (20 October 2008). "Chavez foe goes to trial; blames election politics". Associated Press Worldstream (LexisNexis).
- ^ Morsbach, Greg (20 June 2006). "Venezuela mayor tried over siege". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5097734.stm. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ "US State Department annual report on human rights, section Venezuela". El Universal. 8 March 2006. http://english.eluniversal.com/2006/03/08/en_pol_art_08A680695.shtml. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "2008 Human Rights Report: Venezuela". Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. U.S. Department of State. 25 February 2009. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/wha/119177.htm. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ "A total of 3,040,449 votes were cast in opposition primary election". El Universal. 13 February 2012. http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/primarias-2012/120214/a-total-of-3040449-votes-were-cast-in-opposition-primary-election. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
- ^ Palash R. Ghosh (February 24, 2012). "Venezuela: Hugo Chavez’ Anti-Semitic Election Campaign". International Business Times. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/304063/20120224/venezuela-election-capriles-radonski-chavez-anti-semitism.htm. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
[edit] Further reading
- "Henrique Capriles Radonski, Venezuela presidential candidate, challenges Hugo Chavez". Huffington Post. 3 February 2012. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/03/henrique-capriles-radonski_n_1241826.html. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- (Spanish) Paullier, Juan (13 February 2012). "Así es Capriles Radonski, el hombre que espera derrotar a Hugo Chávez". BBC Mundo. http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/noticias/2012/02/120213_venezuela_perfil_capriles_primarias_oposicion_jp.shtml. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
[edit] External links
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carmelo Lauría |
President of the Chamber of Deputies 2000 |
Position abolished |
| Preceded by Ivonne Attas |
Mayor of Baruta 2000–2008 |
Succeeded by Gerardo Blyde |
| Preceded by Diosdado Cabello |
Governor of Miranda 2008–present |
Incumbent |
|
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- 1972 births
- Living people
- Baruta Municipality
- Central University of Venezuela alumni
- Columbia University alumni
- Copei – Social Christian Party of Venezuela politicians
- Justice First politicians
- Mayors of places in Venezuela
- Members of the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies
- People from Caracas
- People of Jewish descent
- People of Dutch descent
