Rafael Darío Ramírez Carreño (born August 4, 1963) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and diplomat. He joined the board of Venezuelan state-owned

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...

company

PDVSA Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (acronym PDVSA, , English language, English: Petroleum of Venezuela) is the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company. It has activities in exploration, production, refining and exporting oil as well as e ...

in 2002 and served as company president from 2004 to 2014. He also served as Venezuela's Minister of Energy from 2002 to 2014. He was the longest-serving cabinet member under President

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

. In 2014, he briefly served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then subsequently served as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in New York. Ramirez was fired as UN representative by Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro the evening of November 28, 2017. He confirmed he had "resigned" at the request of Maduro on December 4, 2017.

Life and career

Ramírez was appointed to lead the energy ministry in July 2002 by Venezuelan President Chávez. Ramirez had been the founding president of Venezuela's ''"Enagas"'', the national regulatory agency that was set up to be responsible for establishing the national plan for

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

production and distribution. Ramírez, a

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

by his

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

education, has had wide-ranging experience in the design, development, coordination, and management of engineering projects for the Venezuelan petroleum industry. Hence, Ramírez was responsible for the design, development, and promotion of national policies for natural gas. Next, he was promoted to the status of Minister of Energy and Mines, and faced the "oil sabotage" of late 2002 and early 2003. The Ministry of Energy and Mines first became Ministry of Energy and Oil in January 2005, and then Ministry for People's Power of Oil and Mining in 2012. On November 20, 2004, Ramírez was selected as the president of the company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), a position that he has held concurrently with that of the Minister of Energy and Petroleum. Ramírez was moved to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs on 2 September 2014. After a few months he was instead appointed as Permanent Representative to the

on 26 December 2014. His appointment as Permanent Representative coincided with Venezuela taking a seat on the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

on 1 January 2015. On 31 May 2017, Ramírez was elected as Chair of the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization). On November 28, 2017 after weeks of differences with Venezuela's government, Ramirez was fired as Venezuela's Permanent Representative to the

in New York. After a week of silence from Ramirez and the Venezuelan UN Mission, on December 4, 2017 he confirmed that he had resigned from the UN post at the request of the Venezuelan president.

Professional career

* Mechanical engineer from Universidad de los Andes (ULA). * Master's degree in energy from Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV).

Sanctions

The

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

sanctioned Ramírez in November 2017 as being someone who participated in "significant acts of corruption or who have been involved in serious violations of human rights". He is also banned from entering neighboring

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The Colombian government maintains a list of people banned from entering Colombia or subject to expulsion; as of January 2019, the list had 200 people with a "close relationship and support for the Nicolás Maduro regime".

References

External links

PDVSA.com BioWorld Energy Magazine – Venezuela: A Factor for Energy Integration in Latin America and the Caribbean
*http://www.guia.com.ve/noti/30003/rafael-ramirez-gana-mas-de-30000-dolares-al-mes Last known salary of Rafael Ramirez {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Rafael (Venezuela) Living people Central University of Venezuela alumni Venezuelan engineers Venezuelan defectors Nicolás Maduro ministers 1963 births Permanent representatives of Venezuela to the United Nations Ministers of foreign affairs of Venezuela People of the Crisis in Venezuela Presidents of PDVSA University of the Andes (Venezuela) alumni Hugo Chávez ministers Exiled Venezuelan politicians

Life and career

Professional career

Sanctions

See also

References

External links