Key figure in 1958 transition from dictatorship to democracy dies

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, February 28, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Rear Admiral Wolfgang Larrazabal Ugueto (91) has died of a heart attack.  He was an important figure in the transition between the dictatorship of General Marcos Perez Jimenez and the democratic era and was leader of the Junta between January 23 and November 14, 1958.

The Rear Admiral was born in Carupano (Sucre), studied in Maracaibo, entering the Naval School (1928-1932) ... commanding  several Navy ships until he was appointed commander of the Puerto Cabello Navy base.

• In 1947, Larrazabal became Navy Supreme Commander and Military Attache at the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington in 1979.

Commentators say it was the Admiral’s unpretentious style that made the transition to democracy smooth, despite several coup attempts against the Accion Democratica (AD) government.

El Universal was the first mainstream broadsheet to announce the Rear Admiral's death. It will be interesting to see government and opposition "body language" during the wake and funeral.