Isaías Medina Angarita (6 July 1897 – 15 September 1953) was a Venezuelan military and political leader, the
president of Venezuela from 1941 until 1945, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. He followed the path of his predecessor
Eleazar López Contreras
José Eleazar López Contreras (5 May 1883 – 2 January 1973) was the president of Venezuela between 1935 and 1941. He was an army general and one of Juan Vicente Gómez's collaborators, serving as his War Minister from 1931. In 1939, López C ...
, and ruled the country's democratic transition process.
Career
Medina was born in
San Cristóbal, Venezuela, and graduated from the
Military academy of Venezuela
The Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army (in Spanish ''Academia Militar del Ejército Bolivariano''), historically known as the Military Academy of Venezuela, is an academy to train members of the officer corps of the National Army of the Boli ...
in 1914. He served as War Minister from 1936 to 1941 under López Contreras. In 1943, he founded the
Venezuelan Democratic Party
Venezuelan Democratic Party (, PDV) was a political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas abo ...
. Medina Angarita was the first Venezuelan president who traveled abroad (in active office). First, in 1943 to the Bolivarian countries, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Panama, and in January 1944, the United States invited by
Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The visit marked a milestone in the Venezuelan-US relations. Besides being the first time a Venezuelan president (in office) visited the United States, the time was made the journey was understood as an expression of the alliance of Venezuela with the Allies that fought the Axis. During the administration of Medina, Venezuela establishes relations with China in 1943 and the Soviet Union in 1945. Some in the Army considered his presidential regime too liberal while other political enemies accused him of being too conservative, and both sides were involved in a coup to remove him from power
on 18 October 1945. Medina died, aged 56, in
Caracas.
Medina's cabinet (1941-1945)
Personal life
Isaías Medina Angarita was married to Irma Felizola, who served as
First Lady of Venezuela
First Lady of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Primera Dama de Venezuela'') is the unofficial title traditionally held by the wife of the president of Venezuela. The current office of the first lady is disputed.
List of first ladies
Non-spouse first ladi ...
from 1941–1945.
File:Irma Felizola.jpg, Irma Felizola
See also
*
Presidents of Venezuela
*
List of Venezuelans
References
*
Isaías Medina Angarita— Venezuelatuya.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medina Angarita, Isaias
Presidents of Venezuela
World War II political leaders
Venezuelan generals
Venezuelan soldiers
People from San Cristóbal, Táchira
1897 births
1953 deaths
Venezuelan Democratic Party politicians
Venezuelan people of Spanish descent
Leaders ousted by a coup