The vice president of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente de Venezuela), officially known as the Executive Vice President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the second highest political position in the government of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. The vice president is the direct collaborator of the

Venezuelan president The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...

according to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

. The office of vice president appeared in the Constitution of 1830 until the Constitution of 1858, and once again in the Constitution of 1999. However, in its current (1999) incarnation, the office is more akin to a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

in systems as those of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. Since June 14, 2018,

Delcy Rodríguez Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez (born 18 May 1969) is a Venezuelan politician serving as the vice president of Venezuela since 2018. She was also Minister of Popular Power for Communication and Information of Venezuela from 2013 to 2014, Min ...

of the

United Socialist Party of Venezuela The United Socialist Party of Venezuela ( es, Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela, PSUV) is a left-wing to far-left socialist political party which has been the ruling party of Venezuela since 2010. It was formed from a merger of some of the p ...

has been vice president, serving with President Nicolás Maduro.

Office of the executive vice president

Functions and duties

According to the Constitution of 1999, the duties of the executive vice president are # To collaborate with the president of the Republic to direct the actions of the Government. # To coordinate the Public National Administration in accordance with the instructions of the president of the Republic. # To propose the appointment and the removal of the ministers to the president of the Republic. # To preside over the Cabinet if the president is absent or with authorization in advance from the president. # To coordinate the relations of the National Executive with the National Assembly. # To preside at the Federal Council of Government. # To name and to remove, in accordance with the law, the officials or national officials whose designation is not attributed to another authority. # To substitute for the president of the Republic on temporary and absolute absences. # To exercise the duties delegated to him by the president of the Republic.

Appointment and removal

The executive vice president is appointed and removed by the president. The vice president can also be removed with more than two-thirds of the votes in

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. If the National Assembly removes three vice presidents from office during a six-year presidential term, the president is authorized to dissolve the Parliament.

Presidential succession

The executive vice president is the first in line to the succession of the president of Venezuela, when the president is unable to fulfill the duties of office in the exceptional cases established in the Article 233 and 234 of the National Constitution. Former vice presidents Andrés Navarte,

Carlos Soublette Carlos Valentín José de la Soledad Antonio del Sacramento de Soublette y Jerez de Aristeguieta (15 December 1789 – 11 February 1870) was the president of Venezuela from 1837 to 1839 and 1843 to 1847 and a hero of the Venezuelan War of I ...

Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela also drug lord of Venezuela , atentamente alcardonDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician and current mem ...

(in April 2002) and Nicolás Maduro (in 2012–2013) were all once acting presidents of Venezuela. Soublette and Maduro were also later elected as president.

List of vice presidents of Venezuela

State of Venezuela (1830–1864)

Fifth Republic (1999–present)

References

;Sources
Vicepresidency of the Republic
;Citations {{reflist Executive branch of the government of Venezuela