The 24th century of the anno Domini (common) era will span from January 1, 2301 to December 31, 2400 of the Gregorian calendar. Unlike most century years, the year 2400 is a leap year, and the first century leap year since 2000.

Predictions[link]

Astronomical predictions set in the 24th century[link]

List of the long total solar eclipses[link]

• June 9, 2309 : Solar eclipse,^[1] (6 min 30 s), of saros 142.
• June 20, 2327 : Solar eclipse,^[2] (6 min 21 s), of saros 142.
• June 30, 2345 : Solar eclipse,^[3] (6 min 07 s), of saros 142.
• July 12, 2363 : Solar eclipse,^[4] (5 min 51 s), of saros 142.
• July 22, 2381 : Solar eclipse,^[5] (5 min 33 s), of saros 142.
• August 2, 2399 : Solar eclipse,^[6] (5 min 14 s), of saros 142.

Other phenomena[link]

• September 11, 2307: At 22:50 UTC, Venus will occult Uranus.
• 2313: Triple conjunction Mars–Jupiter.
• 2319: Triple conjunction Mars-Saturn.
• June 4, 2327: At 00:54 UTC, Venus will occult Mars.
• October 8, 2335: At 14:51 UTC, Venus will occult Jupiter.
• April 7, 2351: At 17:22 UTC, Mercury will occult Uranus.
• December 13, 2360: Transit of Venus.
• 2365: Perihelion of Comet Halley.
• December 10, 2368: Transit of Venus.
• 2388: Triple conjunction Mars-Saturn.
• May 11, 2391: Partial transit of Mercury.
• November 17, 2400: Venus will occult Antares (last occultation of Antares by Venus was on September 17, 525 BC).

Science fiction set in the 24th century[link]

Literature[link]

• The novel 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson takes place in 2312.
• Bis zum Nullpunkt des Seins ("To the Zero Point of Existence"), written in 1871 by Kurd Laßwitz, is set in the year 2371.
• The novel Bikini Planet by David S. Garnett takes place at the beginning of the 24th Century.
• The novel The World Inside (1971) by Robert Silverberg takes place in 2381.
• Scott Westerfled novel series "Uglies" takes place 300 years from the year the first book (Uglies) was published.
• The novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury takes place in the 24th Century.
• The year 2381 is the setting of Robert Silverberg's The World Inside.
• Alliance-Union universe, backdrop for a series of novels by C. J. Cherryh starting in the 23rd century.
• Expedition, subtitled Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 AD. Voyage to Darwin IV. Humans have made their world very toxic killing most life-forms and forcing them to use other technology. They have also started studying Darwin IV, a planet bursting with life.
• In the Doctor Who novel The Stone Rose, Vanessa comes from the year 2375.
• Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton are set in the 24th century.
• In The Time Machine an added chapter from the Great Illustrated Classics, The Time Traveller sets his Time Machine to stop at the 24th century on his way back to the year 1899, to find if humanity has made any achievements in his future. He finds a highly advanced society, but later learns that Earth is in World War III, from top to bottom. Time Travel has been made illegal in this time period and the time traveler is about to be arrested but manages to escape into 1899.

Television[link]

• Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (c. 2350).
• In the episode Attack of Big MACC in the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series, the "thinking" robot MACC leaves his time (2390) and time travels back to the late 1980s. MACC later returns to his own time after helping the TMNT fighting Krang, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady.
• Tom Corbett, Space Cadet is active in the year 2352.
• The 1980 apocalyptic anime series Space Runaway Ideon occurs in the 24th century.
• In the animated series Futurama, 2303 is the year that the Monks started looking for God through their giant telescope. Also in 2308 Bender Bending Rodríguez interrupts the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and while being chased down is inadvertently responsible for the destruction of New York City which makes way for New New York City.
• The anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 00 takes place between the years 2307 and 2312.
• The TV series Cold Lazarus is set in the year 2368.

Star Trek Series[link]

Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager, as well as Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis are set in the 24th century.

Star Trek: The Next Generation[link]

• Jean-Luc Picard, born July 13, 2305.^[7]
• Beverly Crusher, born 2324.^[8]
• William T. Riker, born 2335.^[9]
• Geordi La Forge, born 2335.^[9]
• Deanna Troi, born March 29, 2336.^[10]
• Natasha Yar, born 2337.^[11]
• Data, activated February 2, 2338.^[12]
• Worf, born 2340.^[11]
• Wesley Crusher, born 2349.^[11]
• The USS Enterprise, the fifth Federation starship to bear the name, registry NCC-1701-D is launched; 2364.
• Events of Star Trek: The Next Generation (c. 2364–2370).
• Events of Star Trek Generations (c. 2371).
• Events of Star Trek: First Contact (c. 2373).
• Events of Star Trek: Insurrection (c. 2375).
• Events of Star Trek Nemesis (c. 2379).

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine[link]

• Benjamin Sisko, born 2332.^[11]
• Quark, born c. 2333.^[13]
• Odo, discovered 2337.^[11]
• Miles O'Brien, born September 2328.^[14]
• Jadzia Dax, born 2341.^[11]
• Kira Nerys, born 2343.^[11]
• Ezri Dax, born 2354.^[15]
• Nog, born c. 2353.^[16]
• Jake Sisko, born 2355.^[11]
• Events of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (c. 2369–2375)

Star Trek: Voyager[link]

• Tuvok, born 2264.^[17]
• Chakotay, born 2329.^[18]
• Kathryn Janeway, born May 20, c. 2336.^[19]
• Neelix, born c. 2337.^[20]
• Tom Paris, born c. 2346.^[21]
• B'Elanna Torres, born 2349.^[11]
• Harry Kim, born 2349.^[22]
• Seven of Nine, born June 24, 2350.^[23]
• Kes, born 2370.^[24]
• The Doctor, activated 2371.^[25]
• Events of Star Trek: Voyager (c. 2371–2378)

Movies[link]

• Star Trek Generations (c. 2371)
• Star Trek: First Contact (c. 2373)
• Star Trek: Insurrection (c. 2375)
• Star Trek Nemesis (c. 2379)
• Forbidden Planet (c. 2381)
• Alien Resurrection (c. 2381)

Video games[link]

• A map for role-playing plug-in for the widely popular Half-Life modification The Specialists, named by the creators of the Havoc9 Gaming Network as Xenon City takes place in the years 2346 to its destruction that takes place 70 years later.
• Many games based in the Star Trek universe take place in the 24th century.
• In the StarCraft series, 40,000 humans are exiled from Earth in 2309. They reach the Koprulu Sector on the Galactic Rim in 2337. Stranded on three separate worlds, they are reunited in 2397.
• The FreeSpace Series, a sci-fi space starfighter sim, takes place from 2335 to 2367.
• Independence War 2: Edge of Chaos, a large-scale spacecraft game, takes place in years 2378 and 2393.
• The Journeyman Project, a computer game, set in 2318.
• The Journeyman Project: Buried In Time, a computer game, set in 2328.
• Terra Nova: Strike Force Centauri takes place in 2327, usually referred to as ClanYear 124, in the date system used by the Clans inhabiting Alpha Centauri.
• Unreal Tournament series, a first-person shooter (c. 2341–2362).
• Mega Man Zero takes place sometime after 2302, but officially takes place in 22XX, at least four years earlier.
• 2348 Gain Ground.
• The character R.A.X. Coswell from the Sega Genesis video game, Eternal Champions is from the year 2345.
• Operation: Matriarchy takes place around 2350.
• In the Star Fleet Universe, Y1—the year of First Contact between humanity and the Vulcans, has been postulated as occurring in 2400, although the Star Trek: First Contact movie previously mentioned identifies the year of first contact as 2063.
• The TimeSplitters 2 level 'Robot Factory' is set in the year 2315.
• The Killzone Series takes place in the years 2350–2352
• The Zybourne Clock epic begins on Wednesday, January 19, 2381. (In actuality, this date falls on a Monday.)

Other Games[link]

• The Game Designers' Workshop role playing game 2300 AD is set in the 24th century.

Comic books[link]

• In Marvel Comics' "Hercules, Prince of Power," Zeus slays his son Ares god of war, in 2381.
• In Space Moose, a time traveler from the year 2314, Professor Shaun Ot, leaves and never returns.^[26]
• A Wonder Woman one-shot foe comes from the year 2300. (See List of Wonder Woman enemies.)

Centuries and millennia[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• 24th century at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

Alex Tanguay
Born	(1979-11-21) November 21, 1979 (age 32) Sainte-Justine, QC, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche HC Lugano Montreal Canadiens Tampa Bay Lightning
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	12th overall, 1998 Colorado Avalanche
Playing career	1999–present

Alexandre Tanguay (born November 21, 1979) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger currently with the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has additionally played with the Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL and briefly for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League A in 2004. An offensive player, he is best known for his passing and playmaking ability.

An alumnus of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Tanguay is the team's all-time leading scorer and had his jersey retired. During his junior career, he was also a member of Canada's under-20 team at the 1998 World Junior Championships. Selected in the first round, 12th overall, by the Colorado Avalanche at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, he began his NHL career with Colorado in 1999. Tanguay won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001, scoring the championship-winning goal in Game 7 against the New Jersey Devils. Individually, he was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy following his rookie season and was chosen to the 2004 All-Star Game during his six-year tenure with Colorado. In July 2006, he was traded to the Flames and spent two years with the club before single-season stints with the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. In July 2010, he returned to Calgary, signing as an unrestricted free agent.

Playing career[link]

Junior[link]

Following a season of midget AAA hockey with the Cap-de-Madeleine Estacades, Tanguay joined the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) for the 1996–97 season. He played 70 games, scored 27 goals and 68 points and was named to the QMJHL All-Rookie Team.^[1] The following season, he improved to 47 goals and 85 points in 51 league games. He was a member of the 8th place Canadian junior team at the 1998 World Junior Hockey Championship, finishing second in team-scoring with three points in seven games.^[2]

In a draft in which they had four first-round selections, the Colorado Avalanche made Tanguay their first pick, 12th overall, at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.^[3] He was invited to Colorado's training camp that fall, and impressed the team such that he made the team as an 18-year-old. However, Tanguay and the Avalanche were unable to come to terms on a contract and he was instead returned to Halifax for the 1998–99 QMJHL season.^[4]

A few games into his third season with the Mooseheads, he tied a franchise record with five points in one game, an 11–3 victory over the Baie-Comeau Drakkar on October 9, 1998, then tied another record with four goals in a 6–1 defeat of the Drummondville Voltigeurs six nights later.^[2] However, he suffered a concussion early in the season which forced him out of the lineup for 28 games.^[5] Though he was limited to 31 contests in 1998–99, he scored 27 goals and 61 points.^[1] Tanguay finished his junior career as the Mooseheads' all-time leader in goals (101), assists (113) and points (214).^[2] In honour of his accomplishments, the team retired his #18 jersey in 2005.^[6]

Having replaced his agent following his earlier inability to sign with Colorado,^[5] Tanguay agreed to a contract with the Avalanche during the season and was assigned to Colorado's American Hockey League affiliate, the Hershey Bears, after his junior season ended. He scored one goal and two assists in five regular season games and added two assists in five playoff games.^[1]

Colorado Avalanche[link]

Tanguay made his NHL debut on October 5, 1999, against the Nashville Predators and scored his first point that night, recording an assist on a Claude Lemieux goal as part of a 3–2 Colorado win.^[7] He scored at least one point in his first five NHL games,^[8] including his first NHL goal on October 8 against Peter Skudra of the Pittsburgh Penguins.^[9][10] He was named to play in the YoungStars Game as part of 2002 NHL All-Star weekend, but did not play due to injury.^[11] Though he struggled at times adjusting to play in the NHL,^[8] he finished the season second in the league amongst rookies with 51 points,^[2] 19 behind rookie-leader Scott Gomez.^[12]

In his sophomore season of 2000–01, Tanguay improved to 77 points and finished sixth in the NHL in plus/minus at +35.^[2] He enjoyed an 11-game point streak in November 2000, scoring six goals and 13 assists in that span. He was a key contributor for the Avalanche in the post season, recording 21 points.^[1] In game seven of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, Tanguay scored two goals, including the game-winner, and added an assist in a 3–1 victory against the New Jersey Devils. His efforts led Colorado to its second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.^[13]

After falling to 48 points over 70 games in 2001–02, Tanguay rebounded in 2002–03 to score 67 points. During the season, he had a career best 16-game point streak which set a Colorado team record. He also scored his first career NHL hat trick on March 22, 2003, against the Chicago Blackhawks.^[2] He was nearly traded to the Boston Bruins early in the season when both he and the team were struggling. Colorado had offered Tanguay and Martin Skoula to Boston for Martin Lapointe and Kyle McLaren,^[14] though the deal failed to materialize.

He improved to a new personal best of 79 points in 2003–04, good enough for ninth place in league scoring, while his 54 assists tied him for fourth in the NHL.^[2] The league named him to the Western Conference team at the 2004 All-Star Game.^[15] While the 2004–05 was season cancelled by a labour dispute, Tanguay signed to play for HC Davos of the Swiss National League A. He appeared in six games with Davos, scoring six points.^[1] He returned to the Avalanche in 2005–06, and despite missing ten games late in the year with a knee injury, set a personal best with 29 goals, while his 78 points was one short of his career high.^[2] Tanguay scored two goals in an April 15, 2006, game against the Vancouver Canucks to reach 400 points for his career.^[16]

Though he was the team's second leading scorer, Tanguay continued to be the subject of trade talks throughout the season. Set to become a restricted free agent in July 2006, the Avalanche chose to trade his negotiating rights to the Calgary Flames at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for defenceman Jordan Leopold and two second round draft picks.^[17] Tanguay felt that the team chose to trade him after he failed to live up to the team's expectations in the playoffs even though he continued to struggle with his knee injury.^[18] The Flames quickly signed Tanguay to a three-year contract worth US$15.75 million.^[19]

Calgary Flames[link]

Tanguay prior to a game in 2011

Tanguay enjoyed a career season in 2006–07, his first in Calgary, scoring a career high 81 points in 81 games. He was second on the team in scoring, and led the Flames with 57 assists.^[2] Additionally, he played in his 500th career game on February 2, 2007, against the Columbus Blue Jackets.^[2] The 2007–08 season was a difficult one for Tanguay, as speculation that he would not mesh well with new coach Mike Keenan's style resulted in his being the subject of trade rumours throughout the year.^[20][21]

Pre-season fears of a conflict with Keenan were realized, as the coach reduced his time on the power play and forced him into a defensive role he was not comfortable with.^[22] Unhappy with being pushed into a checking role, and believing that the way Keenan was using him was not allowing him to give the Flames fair value on his contract, Tanguay requested a trade at the Christmas break. He and general manager Darryl Sutter agreed to keep it quiet so as not to become a distraction to the team, although Tanguay's request was revealed in the off-season.^[23] He suffered offensively, falling to 58 points.^[1]

Montreal and Tampa Bay[link]

Two years after being acquired by Calgary in a draft-day trade, he left the Flames in another such deal. At the 2008 NHL Entry Draft on June 20, 2008, the Flames granted his request and sent Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens, along with a fifth round draft pick, in exchange for a first round pick in 2008 and a second rounder in 2009.^[24] Tanguay accepted the trade to Montreal despite previously saying he would never want to play for the Canadiens and expressing worries about being a French-Canadian player in the Montreal spotlight.^[23]

Tanguay recovered offensively to begin the 2008–09 season. He was named Montreal's player of the month in October after scoring a team-high six goals and 11 assists.^[2] He registered his 500th career point with a goal in a November 20 game against the Edmonton Oilers,^[2] and entered December as one of the leading vote getters for the 2009 All-Star Game.^[25] He ranked third in team-scoring at the end of the month when he suffered a separated left shoulder as a result of a hit by Evgeny Artyukhin of the Tampa Bay Lightning.^[26] He missed two months as a result and appeared in a career-low 50 games.^[2]

The Canadiens chose not to re-sign Tanguay following the season.^[27] He instead agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 2009–10 season after passing a physical exam on his shoulder.^[28] He struggled for most of the season with the Lightning, at one point lamenting that he had "forgotten how to play".^[29] It ended as the worst season of his career, as Tanguay finished with 10 goals, 37 points and had a negative plus-minus (−2) for the first time in his career.^[30]

Back to Calgary[link]

Tanguay opted to return to Calgary, signing a one-year, $1.7 million contract for the 2010–11 season. He said that the Flames, who were now coached by Brent Sutter, were one of his top choices and that he felt he had unfinished business with the team. Tanguay added that the team expressed confidence in his abilities even as others doubted him following his injuries.^[31] The decision proved successful, as Tanguay re-established himself as one of his team's top offensive players.^[32] He finished second to Jarome Iginla in team scoring with 69 points, and led the Flames with 47 assists.^[33] Following the season, the Flames signed him to a five-year contract extension worth $17.5 million.^[34]

Playing style[link]

Tanguay is best known for his playmaking skills and ability to set his teammates up for scoring opportunities. His speed and passing skills are considered his strongest attributes.^[35] Calgary teammates Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginla both praised his ability to find a way to pass the puck to them in difficult plays.^[36]

He has been criticized for not shooting the puck enough, resulting in the view that his goal totals could be higher.^[35] Tanguay has good shooting ability; he led the league in shooting percentage in 2005–06 and finished third in 2006–07 with an average of 23.2% both seasons.^[2] He is also a top player in the shootout,^[37] and led the league with 10 shootout goals in 2010–11.^[38]

Personal life[link]

Tanguay was born on November 21, 1979 in the town of Sainte-Justine, Quebec. His father worked with the family-owned transportation company, while his mother worked at a nearby school division.^[39] His younger brother, Maxime, is also a professional hockey player.^[40] Tanguay is distantly related to French-Canadian author, and fellow Sainte-Justine native, Roch Carrier.^[39]

Tanguay grew up a fan of the Quebec Nordiques and frequently accompanied his grandfather to their games. Owing to the nature of the Battle of Quebec rivalry with the Canadiens that existed when he was growing up, Tanguay admitted unease at joining the Canadiens in 2008.^[41]

Tanguay and his wife Helene have a daughter.^[42] The two volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society; in the 2010–11 season, he donated $200 for every assist he recorded. With 47 assists, the total reached $9,400; Tanguay established at the beginning of the season, however, that he would donate a minimum of $10,000.^[43]

Career statistics[link]

Regular season and playoffs

International

References[link]

External links[link]

• Alex Tanguay's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Alex Tanguay's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Alex Tanguay's NHL player profile

Adam Sessler
Sessler at TGS '07
Born	Adam Donovan Sessler (1973-08-29) August 29, 1973 (age 38) Berkeley, California
Occupation	Host and Senior Segment Producer
Known for	Hosting X-Play

Adam Donovan Sessler (born August 29, 1973) is a former co-host of X-Play with Morgan Webb and editor-in-chief of G4's game content for the network.^[1] He was the only remaining television personality from the G4's original incarnation until he and G4TV parted on April 25, 2012.

Background[link]

Sessler was born in Berkeley, California. He graduated from El Cerrito High School in 1991 and is a graduate of UCLA with a bachelor's degree in English literature. He was previously a credit analyst for a multinational Fortune 500 financial institution in San Francisco, and an actor on the San Francisco Public-access television show Chip Weigh Magnet Down, which he also helped to make. Adam admits that he is grateful to no longer work for Fortune 500 companies, saying in The X-Play Insider's Guide to Gaming that he was "very sad" about the job. Sessler currently lives in Los Angeles, California, having moved from the former TechTV headquarters, which was located in San Francisco, California.^[2] Sessler is married.^[3]

Some of Sessler's known favorite game series are: the Halo series for its first-person shooter qualities; the Japanese version of Rez for its Trance Vibrator feature; the Banjo-Kazooie, Rayman, Ratchet and Clank, and Sly Cooper series for their unique platform qualities; Resident Evil 4; and Call of Duty 4. He also stated during the broadcast of E3 2010 that Uncharted 2 was his favorite single player experience of all time.^{[citation needed]}

His favorite cabinet video game is Ghosts 'n Goblins, which he has stated on several occasions on older episodes of Extended Play and X-Play. "When I was 9 years old I used to scam quarters from my parents and sneak out to this local bowling alley that was so seedy Hubert Selby Jr. would get the creeps there. It smelled like personal abandonment. That's what I think of when I play my favorite game"^{[cite this quote]} he said.

Sessler has a younger brother, Jonathan, who appeared as Adam 2.0 (in X-Play's 2005 April Fool's Day Episode), a "clone" of Adam who claims he's much better-looking than the original Adam with a "special USB port" (a reference to the Game Boy Advance SP succeeding the original Game Boy Advance).^[4]

Career[link]

Sessler was the only original personality from ZDTV remaining on the network, surviving the network's progression from ZDTV (1998–2001) to TechTV (2001–2004), and subsequent transition to G4. Sessler is one of seven TechTV personalities, with Morgan Webb, Sarah Lane, Kevin Rose, Chi-Lan Lieu, Blair Butler and Brendan Moran, to survive the massive layoffs resulting from the May 2004 merger of G4 and TechTV, though until recently he, Webb and Butler were the only three hosts from TechTV still on G4.

In addition to co-hosting X-Play, Sessler also appeared semi-regularly on Attack of the Show! as a video game correspondent. On April 1, 2005, Sessler confused many by announcing he was leaving X-Play to host a late night talk show on G4 entitled Meet the Sess. A trailer of the new show aired on X-Play, showing Sessler verbally and physically abusing his guests until they released information about upcoming video games.^[5] Despite being extremely over-the-top and obviously fake, many viewers began flooding the G4 forums asking when the show would air and if Sessler was really leaving X-Play. Sessler has since publicly announced on several occasions that the show was in fact an April Fool's Day joke. However, he does have a podcast called "Sessler's Soapbox",^[6] as well as "Feedback", where he discussed various gaming topics with other G4 correspondents and guests until late 2011, when he was replaced by Blair Herter.^[7]

On April 25, 2012, Sessler and G4TV parted ways.^[8]

References[link]

• Orland, Kyle (2006-10-17). "Gaming's Top 50 Journalists". Next Generation. http://www.next-gen.biz/features/gamings-top-50-journalists. Retrieved 2007-01-02. 

1. ^ Brian Crecente (December 17, 2008). "Adam Sessler Gets the Boot... Up to Editor-In Chief". http://kotaku.com/5112391/. 
2. ^ IMDB - Bio - Adam Sessler
3. ^ Sessler's Soapbox - Gateway Gaming
4. ^ IMDB - Jonathan Oliver Sessler
5. ^ X-Play Classics: Meet the Sess
6. ^ Sessler's Soapbox
7. ^ G4tv.com - Feedback Blog
8. ^ "Adam Sessler Out at G4". April 25, 2012. http://kotaku.com/5905119/adam-sessler-out-at-g4. Retrieved April 25, 2012. 

External links[link]

• XPlay Hosts: Adam Sessler
• AOTS Blog: Jack Thompson vs Adam Sessler
• Adam Sessler at the Internet Movie Database

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (November 2011)

Hugo Chávez
President of Venezuela
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 February 1999
Vice President	Isaías Rodríguez Adina Bastidas Diosdado Cabello José Vicente Rangel Jorge Rodríguez Ramón Carrizales Elias Jaua
Preceded by	Rafael Caldera
Personal details
Born	Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (1954-07-28) 28 July 1954 (age 57) Sabaneta, Venezuela
Nationality	Venezuelan
Political party	United Socialist Party (2008–present)
Other political affiliations	Fifth Republic Movement (1997–2008)
Spouse(s)	Nancy Colmenares (Div.) Marisabel Rodríguez (Div.)
Relations	Adán Chávez, Aníbal José Chávez Frías (brothers)
Occupation	Military officer (to 1992) and politician
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Venezuela
Service/branch	Army
Years of service	1971–1992
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel

Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈuɣo rafaˈel ˈtʃaβes ˈfɾi.as]; born 28 July 1954) is the current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Following his own political ideology of Bolivarianism and "Socialism for the 21st Century", he has focused on implementing socialist reforms in the country as a part of a social project known as the Bolivarian Revolution, which has seen the implementation of a new constitution, participatory democratic councils and the nationalisation of several key industries.

Born into a working class family in Sabaneta, Barinas, Chávez became a career military officer, and after becoming dissatisfied with the Venezuelan political system, he founded the secretive Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200) in the early 1980s to work towards overthrowing it. Chávez led the MBR-200 in an unsuccessful coup d'état against the Democratic Action government of President Carlos Andrés Pérez government in 1992, for which he was imprisoned. Getting out of prison after two years, he founded a social democratic political party, the Fifth Republic Movement, and was elected president of Venezuela in 1998. He subsequently introduced a new constitution which increased rights for marginalised groups and altered the structure of Venezuelan government, and was re-elected in 2000. During his second presidential term, he introduced a system of Bolivarian Missions, Communal Councils and worker-managed cooperatives, as well as a program of land reform, whilst also nationalising various key industries.

Chavez describes his policies as basically anti-imperialist^[1] and he is a vocal critic of neoliberalism and capitalism more generally, Chávez has been a prominent adversary of the United States' foreign policy.^[2] Allying himself strongly with the Communist governments of Fidel and then Raúl Castro in Cuba, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Rafael Correa in Ecuador and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, his presidency is seen as a part of the socialist "pink tide" sweeping Latin America. He has supported Latin American and Caribbean cooperation and was instrumental in setting up the pan-regional Union of South American Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, the Bank of the South, and the regional television network TeleSur. Chavez is a highly controversial and divisive figure both at home and abroad.

Early life[link]

Childhood: 1954–1970[link]

Sabaneta, Barinas, where Chávez was born and raised.

Hugo Chávez was born on 28 July 1954 in his paternal grandmother Rosa Inéz Chávez's home, a modest three-room house located in the rural village Sabaneta, Barinas State. The Chávez family were of Amerindian, Afro-Venezuelan, and Spanish descent.^[3] His parents, Hugo de los Reyes Chávez and Elena Frías de Chávez, were working-lower middle class schoolteachers who lived in the small village of Los Rastrojos. Hugo was born the second of seven children, including their eldest, Adán Chávez.^[4][5] The couple lived in poverty, leading them to send Hugo and Adán to live with their grandmother Rosa,^[6] whom Hugo would later describe as being "a pure human being... pure love, pure kindness."^[7] She was a devout Roman Catholic, and Hugo was an altar boy at a local church.^[8] Hugo described his childhood as "poor...very happy", and experienced "humility, poverty, pain, sometimes not having anything to eat", and "the injustices of this world."^[9]

Attending the Julián Pino Elementary School, Chávez's hobbies included drawing, painting, baseball and history. He was particularly interested in the 19th-century federalist general Ezequiel Zamora, in whose army his own great-great-grandfather had served.^[10][11] In the mid-1960s, Hugo, his brother and their grandmother moved to the city of Barinas so that the boys could attend what was then the only high school in the rural state, the Daniel O'Leary High School.^[12]

Military Academy: 1971–1975[link]

Aged seventeen, Chávez decided to study at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences in Caracas. At the Academy, he was a member of the first class that was following a restructured curriculum known as the Andrés Bello Plan. This plan had been instituted by a group of progressive, nationalistic military officers who believed that change was needed within the military. This new curriculum encouraged students to learn not only military routines and tactics but also a wide variety of other topics, and to do so civilian professors were brought in from other universities to give lectures to the military cadets.^[13][14][15] Living in Caracas, he saw more of the endemic poverty faced by working class Venezuelans, something that echoed the poverty he had experienced growing up, and he has maintained that this experience only made him further committed to achieving social justice.^[16][17] He also began to get involved in local activities outside of the military school, playing both baseball and softball with the Criollitos de Venezuela team, progressing with them to the Venezuelan National Baseball Championships. Other hobbies that he undertook at the time included writing numerous poems, stories and theatrical pieces, painting^[18] and researching the life and political thought of 19th-century South American revolutionary Simón Bolívar.^[19] He also became interested in the Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara (1928–1967) after reading his memoir The Diary of Che Guevara, although also read books by a wide variety of other figures, from Karl Marx to Hannibal and Napoleon Bonaparte.^[20]

In 1974 he was selected to be a representative in the commemorations for the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ayacucho in Peru, the conflict in which Simon Bolívar's lieutenant, Antonio José de Sucre, defeated royalist forces during the Peruvian War of Independence. It was in Peru that Chávez heard the leftist president, General Juan Velasco Alvarado (1910–1977), speak, and inspired by Velasco's ideas that the military should act in the interests of the working classes when the ruling classes were perceived as corrupt,^[21] he "drank up the books [Velasco had written], even memorising some speeches almost completely."^[22] Befriending the son of Panamanian President Omar Torrijos (1929–1981), another leftist military general, Chávez subsequently visited Panama, where he met with Torrijos, and was impressed with his land reform program that was designed to benefit the peasants. Being heavily influenced by both Torrijos and Velasco, he saw the potential for military generals to seize control of a government when the civilian authorities were perceived as only serving the interests of the wealthy elites.^[21][23] In contrast to military presidents like Torrijos and Velasco however, Chávez became highly critical of Augusto Pinochet, the right-wing general who had recently seized control in Chile with the aid of the American CIA.^[24] Chávez would later relate that "With Torrijos, I became a Torrijist. With Velasco I became a Velasquist. And with Pinochet, I became an anti-Pinochetist."^[25] In 1975, Chávez graduated from the military academy, being rated one of the top graduates of the year (eight out of seventy five).^[26][27][28]

Early military career: 1976–1981[link]

Following his graduation, Chávez was stationed as a communications officer at a counterinsurgency unit in Barinas,^[30] although the Marxist-Leninist insurgency which the army was sent to combat had already been eradicated from that state, leaving the unit with much spare time. Chávez himself played in a local baseball team, wrote a column for the local newspaper, organized bingo games and judged at beauty pageants.^[31] At one point he found a stash of Marxist literature that was in an abandoned car riddled with bullet holes. Apparently having belonged to insurgents many years before, he went on to read these books, which included titles by such theoreticians as Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, but his favourite was a work entitled The Times of Ezequiel Zamora, written about the 19th-century federalist general whom Chávez had admired as a child.^[32] These books further convinced Chávez of the need for a leftist government in Venezuela, later remarking that "By the time I was 21 or 22, I made myself a man of the left."^[33]

In 1977, Chávez's unit was transferred to Anzoátegui, where they were involved in battling the Red Flag Party, a Marxist-Hoxhaist insurgency group.^[34] After intervening to prevent the beating of an alleged insurgent by other soldiers,^[35] Chávez began to have his doubts about the army and their methods in using torture.^[33] At the same time, he was becoming increasingly critical of the corruption in both the army and in the civilian government, coming to believe that despite the wealth being produced by the country's oil reserves, Venezuela's poor masses were not receiving their share, something he felt to be inherently un-democratic. In doing so, he began to sympathise with the Red Flag Party and their cause, if not their violent methods.^[36]

In 1977, he founded a revolutionary movement within the armed forces, in the hope that he could one day introduce a leftist government to Venezuela: the Venezuelan People's Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación del Pueblo de Venezuela, or ELPV), was a secretive cell within the military that consisted of him and a handful of his fellow soldiers. Although they knew that they wanted a middle way between the right wing policies of the government and the far left position of the Red Flag, they did not have any plans of action for the time being.^[35][37][38] Nevertheless, hoping to gain an alliance with civilian leftist groups in Venezuela, Chávez then set about clandestinely meeting various prominent Marxists, including Alfredo Maneiro (the founder of the Radical Cause) and Douglas Bravo, despite having numerous political differences with them.^[39][40] At this time, Chávez married a working class woman named Nancy Colmenares, with whom he would go on to have three children, Rosa Virginia (born September 1978), Maria Gabriela (born March 1980) and Hugo Rafael (born October 1983).^[41]

Revolutionary activity[link]

Later military career and the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200: 1982–1991[link]

Five years after his creation of the ELPV, Chávez went on to form a new secretive cell within the military, the Bolivarian Revolutionary Army-200 (EBR-200), later redesignated the Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 (MBR-200).^[13][42][43] Taking inspiration from three Venezuelans whom Chávez deeply admired, Ezequiel Zamora (1817–1860), Simón Bolívar (1783–1830) and Simón Rodríguez (1769–1854), these historical figures became known as the "three roots of the tree" of the MBR-200.^[44][45] Later describing the group's foundation, Chávez would state that "the Bolivarian movement that was being born did not propose political objectives... Its goals were imminently internal. Its efforts were directed in the first place to studying the military history of Venezuela as a source of a military doctrine of our own, which up to then didn't exist."^[46] However, he always hoped that the Bolivarian Movement would become politically dominant, and on his political ideas at the time, remarked that "This tree [of Bolívar, Zamora and Rodríguez] has to be a circumference, it has to accept all kinds of ideas, from the right, from the left, from the ideological ruins of those old capitalist and communist systems."^[47] Indeed, Irish political analyst Barry Cannon noted that the early Bolivarian ideology was explicitly capitalist, but that it "was a doctrine in construction, a heterogeneous amalgam of thoughts and ideologies, from universal thought, capitalism, Marxism, but rejecting the neoliberal models currently being imposed in Latin America and the discredited socialist and communist models of the old Soviet Bloc."^[48]

In 1981, Chávez, by now a captain, was assigned to teach at the military academy where he had formerly trained. Here he indoctrinated new students in his so-called "Bolivarian" ideals, and recruited those whom he felt would make good members of the MBR-200, as well as organizing sporting and theatrical events for the students. In his recruiting attempts he was relatively successful, for by the time they had graduated, at least thirty out of 133 cadets had joined it.^[49] In 1984 he met a Venezuelan woman of German ancestry named Herma Marksman who was a recently divorced history teacher. Sharing many interests in common, she eventually got involved in Chávez's movement and the two fell in love, having an affair that would last several years.^[50][51] Another figure to get involved with the movement was Francisco Arias Cárdenas, a soldier particularly interested in liberation theology.^[52] Cárdenas rose to a significant position within the group, although came into ideological conflict with Chávez, who believed that they should begin direct military action in order to overthrow the government, something Cárdenas thought was reckless.^[53]

However, some senior military officers became suspicious of Chávez after hearing rumours about the MBR-200. Unable to legally dismiss him without proof, they re-assigned him so that he would not be able to gain any more fresh new recruits from the academy. He was sent to take command of the remote barracks at Elorza in Apure State,^[54] where he got involved in the local community by organizing social events, and contacted the local indigenous tribal peoples, the Cuiva and Yaruro. Although distrustful due to their mistreatment at the hands of the Venezuelan army in previous decades, Chávez gained their trust by joining the expeditions of an anthropologist to meet with them. His experiences with them would later lead him to introduce laws protecting the rights of indigenous tribal peoples when he gained power many years later.^[55] While on holiday, he retraced on foot the route taken by his great-grandfather, the revolutionary Pedro Pérez Delgado (known as Maisanta), to understand his family history; on that trip, he met a woman who told Chávez how Maisanta had become a local hero by rescuing an abducted girl.^[56] In 1988, after being promoted to the rank of major, the high ranking General Rodríguez Ochoa took a liking to Chávez and employed him to be his assistant at his office in Caracas.^[57]

Operation Zamora: 1992[link]

In 1989, Carlos Andrés Pérez (1922–2010), the candidate of the centrist Democratic Action Party, was elected President after promising to oppose the United States government's Washington Consensus and financial policies recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Nevertheless, he did neither once he got into office, following instead the neoliberal economic policies supported by the United States and the IMF. He dramatically cut spending, put prominent men in governmental posts. Pérez's policies angered some of the public..^[58][59][60] In an attempt to stop the widespread protests and looting that followed his social spending cuts, Pérez ordered the violent repression and massacre of protesters known as El Caracazo, which "according to official figures ... left a balance of 276 dead, numerous injured, several disappeared and heavy material losses. However, this list was invalidated by the subsequent appearance of mass graves", indicating that the official death count was inadequate.^[61][62][63] Pérez had used both the DISIP political police and the army to orchestrate El Caracazo. Chávez did not participate in the repression because he was then hospitalized with chicken pox, and later condemned the event as "genocide".^[64][65]

Disturbed by the Caracazo, rampant government corruption, the domination of politics by the Venezuelan oligarchy through the Punto Fijo Pact, and what he called "the dictatorship of the IMF", Chávez began preparing for a military coup d'état,^[63][66] known as Operation Zamora.^[67] Initially planned for December, Chávez delayed the MBR-200 coup until the early twilight hours of 4 February 1992. On that date, five army units under Chávez's command moved into urban Caracas with the mission of overwhelming key military and communications installations, including the Miraflores presidential palace, the defense ministry, La Carlota military airport and the Military Museum. Chávez's immediate goal was to intercept and take custody of Pérez, who was returning to Miraflores from an overseas trip. Despite years of planning, the coup quickly encountered trouble. At the time of the coup, Chávez had the loyalty of less than 10% of Venezuela's military forces,^[68] and, because of numerous betrayals, defections, errors, and other unforeseen circumstances, Chávez and a small group of rebels found themselves hiding in the Military Museum, without any means of conveying orders to their network of spies and collaborators spread throughout Venezuela.^[69] Furthermore, Chávez's allies were unable to broadcast their prerecorded tapes on the national airwaves, during which Chávez planned to issue a general call for a mass civilian uprising against the Pérez government. Finally, Chávez's forces were unable to capture Pérez, who managed to escape from them. Fourteen soldiers were killed, and fifty soldiers and some eighty civilians injured during the ensuing violence.^[70][71][72]

Realising that the coup had failed, Chávez gave himself up to the government. On the condition that he called upon the remaining active coup members to cease hostilities, he was allowed to appear on national television, something that he insisted on doing in his military uniform. During this address, he invoked the name of national hero Simón Bolívar and declared to the Venezuelan people that "Comrades: unfortunately, for now, the objectives we had set for ourselves were not achieved in the capital city. That is, those of us here in Caracas did not seize power. Where you are, you have performed very well, but now is the time for a reflect. New opportunities will arise and the country has to head definitively toward a better future."^[73] Many viewers noted that Chávez had remarked that he had only failed "por ahora" (for now),^{[13][74][75][76][77]} and he was immediately catapulted into the national spotlight, with many Venezuelans, particularly those from the poorer sections of society, seeing him as a figure who had stood up against government corruption and kleptocracy.^[78][79][80]