View source for Rafael Caldera

{{short description|President of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and 1994 to 1999}}
{{Lead rewrite|date=April 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{family name hatnote|Caldera|Rodríguez|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Rafael Caldera
| image               = Rafael Caldera en 1979.jpg
| caption             = Caldera in 1979
| order               = 46th and 51st
| office              = President of Venezuela
| term_start          = 2 February 1994
| term_end            = 2 February 1999
| predecessor         = [[Ramón José Velásquez]] (acting)
| successor           = [[Hugo Chávez]]
| office2             = 
| order2              = 
| term_start2         = 11 March 1969
| term_end2           = 11 March 1974
| predecessor2        = [[Raúl Leoni]]
| successor2          = [[Carlos Andrés Pérez]]
| office3             = [[Senate of Venezuela|Senator for Life]]
| term_start3         = 2 February 1999
| term_end3           = 20 December 1999
| term_start4         = 11 March 1974
| term_end4           = 2 February 1994
| office5             = President of the [[Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies|Chamber of Deputies of the Congress of Venezuela]]
| term_start5         = 1959
| term_end5           = 1962
| successor5          = [[Manuel Vicente Ledezma]]
| office6             = Solicitor General of Venezuela
| term_start6         = 26 October 1945
| term_end6           = 13 April 1946
| birth_name          = Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1916|1|24}}
| birth_place         = [[San Felipe (Venezuela)|San Felipe]], Venezuela
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|2009|12|24|1916|1|24}}
| death_place         = [[Caracas]], Venezuela
| occupation          = Lawyer
| signature           = Rafael Caldera Signature.svg
| website             = [http://www.rafaelcaldera.com Official website]
| party               = [[COPEI]]<br /><small>(1946–1993)</small><br />[[National Convergence]]<br /><small>(1993–2009)</small>
| spouse              = [[Alicia Pietri|Alicia Pietri Montemayor]]
| children            = *Mireya Caldera
*Rafael Tomás Caldera
*Juan José Caldera
*Alicia Elena Caldera
*Cecilia Caldera
*[[Andrés Caldera]]
| alma_mater          = [[Central University of Venezuela]]
| resting_place       = [[East Cemetery (Venezuela)|East Cemetery]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aporrea.org/actualidad/n147780.html | title=Sepultados restos del ex presidente Rafael Caldera en cementerio de Caracas | date=26 December 2009 }}</ref>
}}
'''Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez''' ({{IPA|es|rafaˈel anˈtonjo kalˈdeɾa roˈðɾiɣes}} {{Audio|Es-Rafael Caldera.ogg|listen}}; 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009)<ref name="britannica.com">{{britannica|89280}}</ref> was a Venezuelan politician and academician who was the 46th and 51st [[president of Venezuela]] from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999, thus becoming the longest serving democratically elected politician to govern the country in the twentieth century.<ref>[http://www.cognitiobooks.com/author.asp?ix=27 Rafael Caldera – Cognitio]</ref> 
 
Widely acknowledged as one of the founders of Venezuela's democratic system,<ref name = "LA">John D. Martz, "Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador," in Jan Knippers Black, ed. ''Latin America, Its Problems and Its Promise'', 2nd ed. (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1991), 439</ref> one of the main architects of the 1961 Constitution, and a pioneer of the [[Christian Democracy|Christian Democratic movement]] in Latin America, Caldera was President during the second period of civilian democratic rule in a country beleaguered by a history of political violence and military [[caudillo]]s.<ref name="independent.co.uk">[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/rafael-caldera-president-of-venezuela-who-helped-forge-an-era-of-democracy-and-political-stability-1852127.html Rafael Caldera: President of Venezuela who helped forge an era of democracy and political stability in his country – Independent]</ref>

His leadership helped to establish Venezuela's reputation as one of the more stable democracies in Latin America during the second half of the twentieth century.<ref name="globalsecurity.org">[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/venezuela/president-caldera-2.htm "02 Feb 1994 – 02 Feb 1999 – Rafael Caldera Rodríguez – Global Security"]</ref>

He is also remembered as the President who pardoned [[Hugo Chávez]] in December 1994, enabling him to gain freedom from prison and later on to run for the Presidency, which he [[1998 Venezuelan presidential election|achieved in 1998]].

== Youth, education and early achievements ==
[[File:1920. Rafael Caldera vestido de marinero.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The child Rafael Caldera, dressed as a sailor, 1920.]]
[[File:1935. El joven Rafael Caldera a la usanza de la época.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Caldera at nineteen years, 1935.]]
[[File:1931. Octubre, 16, premiación al finalizar el bachillerato en el Colegio San Ignacio, Caracas.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Rafael Caldera during the High School graduation awards, Colegio San Ignacio, Caracas, 16 October 1931. (Handwritten text): "For my adored mom and dad, a keepsake of my school with total devotion".]]
[[File:1940. En su noviazgo con Alicia, aparecen su padre, Rafael Caldera Izaguirre, su hermana Rosa Elena y sus tíos y padres adoptivos, María Eva y Tomás Liscano, en Miracielos, Caracas.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Caldera during his engagement to Alicia. Also in the photo: his father, Rafael Caldera Izaguirre, his sister Rosa Elena, and his aunt and uncle (who became his adoptive parents) Maria Eva Rodríguez and Tomás Liscano, at Miracielos, Caracas, 1940.]]
Rafael Caldera Rodríguez, the son of Rafael Caldera Izaguirre and Rosa Sofía Rodríguez Rivero, was born on 24 January 1916, in [[San Felipe (Venezuela)|San Felipe]], [[Venezuela]]. His mother having died when he was two and a half years-old, Caldera was raised by his maternal aunt María Eva Rodríguez Rivero and her husband Tomás Liscano Giménez.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Caldera attended elementary school in his native San Felipe and later in [[Caracas]], at the Jesuit-run Catholic school San Ignacio de Loyola, where he completed his secondary education at the age of fifteen. The following year he began law studies at the [[Central University of Venezuela]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simon |first=Walker |date=24 December 2009 |title=Two-time Venezuelan president Caldera dies at 93 |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BN300/ |access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref>

As a young university student, Caldera exhibited a precocious intellectual brilliance. At the age of nineteen, and after studying the 26 volumes of [[Andrés Bello]]'s collected works, Caldera published his first book, ''Andres Bello'',<ref name = "AB">Rafael Caldera, ''Andrés Bello''. Caracas: Parra León Hnos., 1935. 167 p. / – 2ª ed. Buenos Aires: Edit. Atalaya, 1946. 148 p. English translation by John Street. London: G. Allen & Unwin, 1977. 165 p</ref> a comprehensive analysis of the life and works of Bello's literary, linguistic, legal, historic, philosophical, and political texts. This book received an award from the [[Academia Venezolana de la Lengua|Venezuelan National Academy of Language]] in 1935, and has remained an indispensable reference for scholarship studies on the most prominent Venezuelan man-of-letters of the 19th century.

A year later, Venezuelan President [[Eleazar López Contreras|López Contreras]] took notice of newspaper op-ed pieces about labor issues written by the young twenty-year-old Caldera. Contreras appointed him deputy director of the newly created National Labor Office. From this position, Caldera played a major role in the drafting of Venezuela's first Labor Law, which remained current for more than fifty years until its reform in 1990. The international lawyer [[Wilfred Jenks]], who drafted the [[Declaration of Philadelphia]] on labor rights and served two terms as Director-General of the [[International Labour Organization]] (ILO), an affiliated agency of the League of Nations, visited Venezuela in 1936 to review the law. He worked closely with Caldera, then Venezuela's first ILO correspondent. Jenks later stated that the International Labor Code published under his guidance on the eve of the Second World War, contained several topics that were arranged in a manner that had originally been employed in the Venezuelan draft Labor Code.<ref>[http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc86/a-calder.htm Address by His Excellency Mr. Rafael Caldera, President of the Republic of Venezuela −9 June 1998 – ILO]</ref>

During his university years, Caldera became actively engaged in student politics. He joined the Venezuelan Federation of Students (FEV), which was led by students who had revolted in 1928 against the dictator [[Juan Vicente Gómez]] and were known as the [[Generation of 1928|Generation of 28]]. Although significantly younger than his peers, Caldera courageously split from this student federation after its leadership called for anticlerical reforms demanding the expulsion of the Jesuits and other religious orders from Venezuela.<ref name="kellogg.nd.edu">[https://kellogg.nd.edu/sites/default/files/old_files/documents/268.pdf Venezuela: Conservative representation without conservative parties. Michael Coppedge. Working Paper #268 – June 1999]</ref>

In 1936, Caldera founded the National Student Union (UNE), the seed of what eventually became the Venezuelan Christian Democratic movement.<ref name = "CI">Several authors. ''COPEI: En el principio fue la UNE''. (Venezuela: Ediciones Nueva Política y Fracción Parlamentaria de COPEI), 44.</ref>
[[File:1939. Abril, 25. En el Paraninfo de la UCV.jpg|thumb|left|200px|In the auditorium of the [[Central University of Venezuela]], upon graduating as a lawyer and doctor of Political Science in 1939.]]

== Political life ==
===The first thirty years (1939–1969)===
[[File:1941. El Diputado más jóven al Congreso Nacional, con veinticinco años de edad.jpg|thumb|210px|right|1941. The youngest representative to be appointed to the National Congress, Rafael Caldera was twenty-five years old.]]
After graduating from university, Caldera founded National Action, a political movement formed to participate in municipal elections. Soon after, he founded the National Action Party and was elected in January 1941, at the age of twenty-five, to the Chamber of Deputies for his native state of Yaracuy.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

As a congressman, he strongly opposed the bill that led to the 1941 boundary treaty with [[Colombia]]. He also had a prominent role in the debates on the partial reform of the 1936 Constitution and revisions to the Civil Code, and was a leading voice in the enactment of progressive labor laws. On 27 October 1945, Caldera was appointed Solicitor General by [[Rómulo Betancourt]], head of the Revolutionary Government Junta that ousted President [[Isaías Medina Angarita]] on [[1945 Venezuelan coup d'état|18 October 1945]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

On 13 January 1946, Caldera co-founded [[COPEI]], ''Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente'' (Independent Political Electoral Organization Committee), the Christian Democratic Party that grew to become one of the two largest mass political parties in Venezuela. COPEI's first statement of principles was inspired by the social teaching of the papal encyclical [[Quadragesimo Anno]] (1931) and embraced democracy, pluralism and social reform.<ref name="kellogg.nd.edu"/>

Four months later, on 13 April 1946, Caldera resigned from his position as Solicitor General in protest against the continuous violent attacks that members of his newly created party were suffering from government supporters.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In 1946, he was elected as a representative to the National Constituent Assembly, inaugurated on 17 December of that year. This legislative body had the task of drafting a new Constitution guided by the principles of the [[El Trienio Adeco|October Revolution]]. Venezuelans from every corner of the country came to admire the rhetorical skills of the young politician. Venezuelans were able to listen to Caldera's speeches after [[Andrés Eloy Blanco]], President of the [[1946 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election|National Constituent Assembly]], granted Caldera's request to allow live radio broadcast of the legislative sessions. Caldera played a prominent role in this assembly. He delivered celebrated speeches on the social rights of workers, the social function of private property, agrarian reform, religious freedom, religious education, and the need for direct, popular election of state governors.<ref name = "RJC">Rodolfo José Cárdenas: «Primer discurso de Rafael Caldera en la Constituyente», in ''COPEI en el Trienio Populista 1945–48, La tentación totalitaria de Acción Democrática''. (Spain: Hijos de E. Minuesa, S.L., 1987), 35</ref>
[[File:1947. Campaña electoral presidencial. Entrada a San Cristóbal, Táchira.jpg|thumb|210px|left|Rafael Caldera during the 1947 Presidential campaign. Arriving at [[San Cristóbal, Táchira]].]]

In the [[1947 Venezuelan general election|1947 elections]], at the age of 31, he ran for president for the first time and travelled around the country to spread the ideas of his newly created party. The renowned Venezuelan novelist [[Rómulo Gallegos]], candidate of the social democrat party [[Acción Democrática|AD]] (Democratic Action), won this election. Caldera also ran for Congress and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for the period 1948–1953. His congressional term, however, was interrupted after Gallegos was ousted by a [[1948 Venezuelan coup d'état|coup d'état]] on 24 November 1948.

In 1952, Caldera was elected representative to the [[1952 Venezuelan Constituent Assembly election|National Constituent Assembly]]. After Colonel [[Marcos Pérez Jiménez]], head of the Military Junta, ignored the electoral triumph of the [[Unión Republicana Democrática|URD]] party (Democratic Republican Union), and expelled [[Jóvito Villalba]] and other leaders of this party from the country, Caldera and other elected party members of COPEI refused to participate in the new Constituent Assembly.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

During the Pérez Jiménez military dictatorship (1952–1958), Caldera was expelled from Universidad Central de Venezuela and arrested several times. On 3 August 1955, agents of the National Security, a large secret police force led by Pedro Estrada that hunted down opponents and ran notorious concentration camps, threw a bomb into Caldera's home, endangering the life of his youngest child, then nine months-old. On 20 August 1957, he was once again imprisoned, but this time in solitary confinement, after Pérez Jiménez learned that Caldera, in all likelihood, would be the consensus candidate for all opposition parties in the presidential election scheduled for December, 1957. With Caldera imprisoned, Pérez Jiménez turned the election into an [[1957 Venezuelan referendum|unconstitutional plebiscite]] ("Yes" or "No" referendum) to decide his permanence in power.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Following the December 1957 plebiscite, Caldera was exiled by the Pérez Jiménez dictatorship in January 1958. He travelled to [[New York City]] and was greeted by Rómulo Betancourt and Jóvito Villalba. His exile, however, only lasted a few days since Marcos Pérez Jiménez was deposed by a civil revolt and [[1958 Venezuelan coup d'état|military coup]] on 23 January 1958. Upon returning to Venezuela, the three leaders signed the [[Puntofijo Pact]], named after Caldera's residence where it was signed.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

This pact contained important political agreements, especially, the commitment of all major political parties to build, protect and strengthen democratic institutions and the rule of law. According to political science scholar Daniel H. Levine, its aim was to "support democracy, band together to resist challenges to its legitimacy and survival; respect elections; and strive in general to institutionalize politics, channeling participation within democratic vehicles and arenas."<ref name = "LE">Daniel H. Levine, "Venezuela: The Nature, Sources and Prospects of Democracy" in ''Democracy in Developing Countries – Latin America'', Larry Diamond, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset eds. (Boulder, Colorado; Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1989), 248</ref>

[[File:1958. Rafael Caldera entrevistado por Mariano Picón Salas en el programa de RCTV, La Hora Nacional.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Caldera and [[Mariano Picón Salas]] during the talk show ''La Hora Nacional''. [[Radio Caracas Television|RCTV]], 1958.]]
The Puntofijo Pact served as the foundation for the longest period of civil democratic rule in Venezuela (1958–1999).{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Unable to reach agreement over a consensus candidate, the three major parties that signed the Puntofijo Pact (AD, URD, and COPEI) competed in the 1958 presidential election with their own candidates and platforms. Rafael Caldera lost to Rómulo Betancourt (AD) and [[Wolfgang Larrazábal]] (URD), who came in first and second place respectively. Caldera also ran for Congress and was elected President of the [[Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies|Chamber of Deputies]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBMWAQAAIAAJ |title = 25 Años de legislación democrática|author1 = Venezuela|year = 1983}}</ref> In this capacity, he co-presided the Bicameral Commission in charge of drafting the new Constitution.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The 1961 Constitution was Venezuela's most successful and long-lived Constitution. This country adopted twenty-five different constitutions between 1811 and 1961, and only three of them (1830, 1854, 1881) lasted more than ten years. After its long history under dictatorships and arbitrary rule, Venezuela became, in the words of Professor Levine, "the most stable mass democracy in South America". For four decades, he explains, "Venezuelans built a political system marked by high participation, strong leadership, institutional continuity, and genuine pervasive competition. Power was transferred peacefully in six consecutive national elections."<ref name = "LE" />

Caldera came in second place in the 1963 presidential election that [[Raúl Leoni]] won as candidate of the ruling party (AD). Soon thereafter, he was elected President of the [[Christian Democratic Organization of America]] (ODCA) for the period 1964–1968, and as first President of the [[Centrist Democrat International|Christian Democratic World Union]] for the period 1967–1968.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In December 1968 Caldera ran for president for the third time. This time, Caldera benefited from a split in AD. Senate president [[Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa]] won the party primary. However, the party's old guard felt Prieto was too left-wing, and intervened to deliver the nomination to [[Gonzalo Barrios (politician)|Gonzalo Barrios]]. Prieto and a number of his supporters broke off to form the [[People's Electoral Movement]].<ref name=Swanson>Swanson, D. L.; Mancini, P. (1996) ''Politics, media, and modern democracy: an international study of innovations in electoral campaigning and their consequences'', Greenwood Publishing Group, p244</ref> Ultimately, Caldera defeated Barrios with 29.1 percent of the vote, a margin of just 32,000 votes. Prieto finished fourth, but his 719,000 votes far exceeded Caldera's margin.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Caldera was sworn in on 11 March 1969. For the first time in Venezuela's 139-year history as an independent nation, there was a peaceful and democratic transfer of power from the ruling party to the opposition. It was also the first time in the country's history that a party won power without ever having resorted to violence. However, COPEI still had a minority in the legislature.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeD5L7sjOq4&t=3s Guillermo Aveledo Coll: Christians in Politics – YouTube]</ref><ref name="EZ">{{cite web|url=http://www.fundacionjoseguillermocarrillo.com/sitio/discaldera.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117170506/http://www.fundacionjoseguillermocarrillo.com/sitio/discaldera.php |url-status=usurped |archive-date=17 January 2008 |title=Político y estadista venezolano del Siglo XX. Ex-Presidente de la República. Biografía. Selección de discursos políticos. Himno Nacional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela |publisher=Fundacionjoseguillermocarrillo.com |access-date=2010-12-27}}</ref>

===First term in office (1969–1974)===
{| class="wikitable aside" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em; width:225px;"
|+Venezuelan Presidential election 1968
|-
! Candidates !! Votes !! %
|-
| Rafael Caldera || 1,083,712 ||29.13%
|-
| Gonzalo Barrios || 1,050,806 ||28.24%
|-
| Miguel Angel Burelli || 826,758 || 22.22%
|-
| Luis Beltran Pietro Figueroa || 719,461 || 19.34%
|-
| Abstention: || 135.311|| 3.27%
|-
| Total votes: || 3,999,617 ||
|}
{{Main|First Presidency of Rafael Caldera}}

[[File:Rafael Caldera 1969.jpg|thumb|220px|right|Rafael Caldera in his first term, 1969]]
[[File:1970. Reunión con el presidente Richard Nixon en la Casa Blanca, Washington, en su visita oficial a USA.jpg|thumb|210px|left|Meeting with President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] at the [[White House]], during his official visit to the United States. 2 June 1970.]]
[[File:1970. Junio 3. Rafael Caldera ante el pleno del Congreso de los Estados Unidos.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Caldera during an address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, 3 June 1970.]]
The process of pacification, a policy that allowed the armed left to lay down their arms and participate in politics under democratic rules, was one of the most important achievements of Caldera's first presidency. This pardon effectively put an end to the guerrilla warfare which had plagued the country for ten years, costing many lives.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

A key distinction between Caldera's first government and those of his predecessors lay in the area of foreign policy. President Caldera restored bilateral relations with the [[Soviet Union]] and the socialist nations of Eastern Europe, as well as with a number of South American nations that had fallen under military dictatorships, including [[Argentina]], [[Panama]], and [[Peru]]. This policy, known as "pluralistic solidarity", was a reversion of his predecessor's [[Betancourt Doctrine]].<ref>[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/venezuela/president-caldera-2.htm 2 Feb 1994 – 2 Feb 1999 – Rafael Caldera Rodríguez – Global Security]</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2022}}
 
Even though Caldera was forced to track back to Washington following the old shocks of 1970, Venezuela was still poised to be an important economic player going into the early 70s. Caldera always considered the United States more of an ally than an adversary, yet he still brought Venezuela's new economic strength to bear on their relationship.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brands |first1=Hal |title=Latin America's Cold War |date=2012 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-674-06427-0 |page=141}}</ref> Caldera took advantage of momentous developments in the international oil trade. He raised taxes on oil production, nationalized the gas industry, and enacted stringent laws regulating the U.S. oil companies that operated in Venezuela.<ref>[http://biography.yourdictionary.com/rafael-caldera-rodriguez Rafael Caldera Rodríguez Facts – Your Dictionary]</ref> In 1971, Caldera raised the oil profit tax to 70 per cent. In addition, he passed the hydrocarbons reversion law which provided that all oil company assets would go to the State once the concessions had elapsed.<ref name = "NR">Sangwani Patrick Ng'ambi, ''Resource Nationalism in International Investment Law''. (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2016), 202</ref>

This law paved the way for the nationalization of the oil industry, which was overseen by finance minister [[Luis Enrique Oberto]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-09 |title=Falleció el exministro Luis Enrique Oberto González |trans-title=Former Minister Luis Enrique Oberto González passed away |url=https://www.elnacional.com/venezuela/fallecio-el-exministro-luis-enrique-oberto-gonzalez/ |access-date=2022-08-13 |website=[[El Nacional (Venezuela)|El Nacional]] |language=es}}</ref> In his official visit to the U.S. in 1970, Caldera obtained a commitment from the Nixon administration to increase the market share of Venezuelan petroleum exports to the United States.<ref>[https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2014/06/president-nixon-welcomes-president-rafael-caldera-venezuela-day-1970/ President Nixon welcomes President Rafael Caldera of Venezuela on this day in 1970 – Richard Nixon Foundation]</ref> Speaking before a joint session of the U.S. Congress,<ref>[https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/visits/venezuela Visits By Foreign Leaders of Venezuela – Office of the Historian / Department of State]</ref> Caldera won repeated applause from the Senators and Representatives as he bluntly urged Americans to change their approach toward Latin America: "The formula for achieving cordial relations," he said, "cannot be the merciless attempts at forever lowering the prices of our goods while increasing the price of commodities we have to import."<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/04/archives/congress-hears-caldera-chide-us-over-trade.html Congress Hears Caldera Chide U.S. Over Trade – The New York Times, 4 June 1970]</ref>

Caldera's most important domestic priorities during his first administration were education, housing, and infrastructure. He dramatically increased the number of educational institutions by doubling the number of public secondary schools and tripling the number of state university colleges and institutes of technology. Universities built and inaugurated during his administration include [[Simón Bolívar University (Venezuela)|Simón Bolívar University]], [[Universidad Nacional Experimental Simón Rodríguez|Simón Rodríguez]], [[Universidad Nacional Experimental del Táchira|Táchira]], and the Institute of Higher Studies for National Defense. On 3 October 1970, after weeks of violent student protests, and reports of weapons and explosive materials hidden inside the university campus, Caldera intervened Central University of Venezuela in order to protect and safeguard the life of students, professors and university employees. Once peace was restored on campus, the university regained its autonomy and held elections for a new governing board.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

During Caldera's first presidency, a total of 291,233 housing units were built.<ref name = "CC">Oficina Central de Información (1974). [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/5-anos-de-cambio-1974/ Cinco años de Cambio, pacificación y desarrollo en el gobierno de Rafael Caldera (1969–1974)]</ref> In terms of infrastructure and public buildings, some of the most important works completed during his first administration include: [[Poliedro de Caracas]], the buildings for the Ministry of Education, the Courts of Law, and the Central Bank; the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo, and the Ríos Reyna Theatre of the Teresa Carreño Cultural Complex, in Caracas; the general hospitals of [[Maracay]], [[Santa Ana de Coro|Coro]], [[Mérida, Mérida|Mérida]], [[San Carlos, Venezuela|San Carlos]], [[Valle de la Pascua]], Chiquinquirá in [[Maracaibo]] and Miguel Pérez Carreño and Los Magallanes de Catia in Caracas; major highways such as Cota Mil and [[Francisco Fajardo Highway|La Araña-Caricuao]] in Caracas, Barquisimeto-Yaritagua, Valencia-Campo de Carabobo and Barcelona-Crucero de Maturín; airports [[La Chinita International Airport|La Chinita]] in Maracaibo, [[Santiago Mariño Caribbean International Airport|Santiago Mariño]] in [[Porlamar]] and Las Piedras in [[Paraguaná]]; the José Antonio Páez water dam in Mérida, Cumaripa in Yaracuy, and the third and four phases of the Guri Project in Guayana.<ref name="NR"/>

=== International leadership and years as Senator (1974–1993) ===
[[File:1979. Septiembre 21. Recibe de Sir Thomas Williams la Presidencia del Consejo de la Unión Interparlamentaria Mundial, en Caracas.jpg|thumb|210px|left|Sir [[Thomas Williams (Warrington MP)|Thomas Williams]] bestows the Presidency of the Inter-Parliamentary Union Governing Council to Rafael Caldera. 21 September 1979.]]
[[File:1980. Agosto, 27. Discurso como presidente de la Unión Interparlamentaria Mundial ante la Asamblea de las Naciones Unidas, New York.jpg|thumb|210px|left|Speech as president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union before the United Nations General Assembly. 27 August 1980.]]
After leaving the presidency of Venezuela, Caldera continued both scholarly and political pursuits. He served in the Venezuelan Senate as all former presidents were granted lifelong appointments to the Senate under 1961 Constitution.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

During this period Caldera was appointed to several important leadership positions in international organizations. Hailed for his role in maintaining democracy and stability in an era when most other Latin American countries experienced political upheaval, Caldera served as President of the [[Inter-Parliamentary Union]] from 1979 to 1982.<ref>[https://www.ipu.org/about-us/structure/president/past-ipu-presidents Past IPU Presidents – Inter-Parliamentary Union]</ref> In 1979, he was elected President of the World Congress of Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, which met in Rome under the auspices of the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) of the United Nations.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/u8719e/u8719e02.htm Declaration of principles. The World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development – FAO]</ref>

A year later, Caldera presided over the International Committee in charge of preparing an international agreement for the establishment of the [[University for Peace]], approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 5 December 1980.<ref>[http://www.ecpd.org.rs/index.php/about-us/establishment-status-and-development-of-the-ecpd Establishment, Status and Development of the ECPD – ECPD.org]</ref>

In March 1987, Caldera was invited by Pope [[John Paul II]] to deliver a speech before the College of Cardinals to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Papal Encyclical [[Populorum Progressio]].<ref>[https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/speeches/1987/march/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19870324_anniversario-pop-progressio.html Discorso di Giovanni Paolo II alla solenne commemorazione del XX anniversario della «Populorum Porgressio» – Vatican.va]</ref>

A leading theme in his speeches and conferences during these years was the need to find solutions to the debt crisis that gravely affected most third-world countries. His main concern was to denounce the injustice of placing the heavy burden of servicing the debt on the shoulders of the most impoverished and vulnerable people of third-world countries.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}
[[File:1981. Abril, 6. Reunión con el Primer Ministro Den Xiao Ping, en Beijing, China, como Presidente de la Unión Interparlamentaria Mundial.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Meeting with [[Paramount leader]] of China, Deng Xiaoping, Beijing, China, 6 April 1981.]]
[[File:1982. Abril, 26. Visita a la Primer Ministro Indira Gandhi de la India, en calidad de Presidente de la Unión Interparlamentaria Mundial.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Visit with the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, as President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 26 April 1982.]]
As tenured Senator in the Venezuelan National Congress, Caldera chose to use the speaker podium exclusively on matters of national importance. As the "architect" of the 1961 Constitution, he was called upon by leaders of all Venezuelan parties to defend its principles, validity and timeliness. Accordingly, he was chosen to deliver the commemorative speeches before special joint sessions of Congress on the 15th (1976)<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/15-anos-la-constitucion-venezolana-1976/ A 15 años de la constitución venezolana – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> and 25th (1986)<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/defensa-la-democracia-1986/ Defensa de la Democracia (1986) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> anniversaries of the 1961 Constitution. In 1985, he was appointed President of the Bicameral Congress Commission for the Reform of the Labor Law. After years of deliberations with workers, legal experts, labor unions, and representatives from industry and commerce chambers, the bill was presented in 1989 and passed by Congress at the end of 1990.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In June 1989, Caldera was appointed President of the Bicameral Congress Commission for the Reform of the Constitution.<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/discurso-reforma-constitucional-1992/ La reforma a la constitución: una salida democrática (1992) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> The reform project prepared by the commission was presented in March 1992, but did not receive the necessary support from the major political parties in Congress. This project included provisions to restructure the Judiciary as well as mechanisms to strengthen citizen participation in democracy. These changes had been demanded by most sectors of Venezuela's society, in light of corruption in the administration of justice and insufficient means for citizens to directly participate in governmental decisions. The political events that later unfolded in 1999, and particularly President Chávez' call for a constituent assembly during the first year of his administration, reflect how consequential Congress' dismissal of this reform bill would eventually become.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The most memorable and controversial speeches Caldera delivered as Senator came in February 1989, at the wake of the bloody riots in Caracas on 27 February, known as "[[Caracazo]]," and in February, 4 of 1992, after the failed [[1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts|military coup]] by Hugo Chaves.<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/caldera-dos-discursos-19891992/ Caldera: dos discursos (1989/1992) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> "The country was in crisis. Even though Caldera was one of the main architects of the system, he was one of the first to realize its weakness. So much oil (by some estimates, in the decade after the 1973 oil price surge, Venezuela received 240 billion dollars, or five times the Marshall Plan) had led not just to dependence but widespread corruption and growing resentment from the popular sectors left off the gravy train".<ref name="independent.co.uk"/>

In these speeches, Caldera insisted on the need to recognize the root causes of the crisis and the growing weakening of the people's faith in democratic values and institutions. One month after the February 1992 coup, he delivered a memorable speech at Universidad Central de Venezuela condemning the country's history with military dictatorships and coups d'état. He urged students to reject violent paths and search for answers to the crisis without abandoning the principles and mechanisms of democracy.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=tgGCvjr-Jzg Palabras de Rafael Caldera en el Aula Magna UCV (1992) – YouTube]</ref>

The 1961 Constitution did not allow former presidents to run again before ten years had elapsed after leaving office. In 1983, Caldera became eligible again and was chosen by his party [[COPEI]] to run against [[Jaime Lusinchi]], the candidate of the opposition party [[Acción Democrática|AD]], who won the presidential election. In 1993, Caldera ran for president as an independent candidate, with the support of a new party, [[National Convergence (Venezuela)|National Convergence]], which allowed members and sympathizers of COPEI to support his candidacy. He also received the support from a coalition of 17 small parties dismissed by opponents as "''chiripas''" (small cockroaches). Caldera won the presidency with almost 400.000 votes over his closest opponent [[Claudio Fermín]], the candidate of AD. As it had been the case in his first administration, Caldera had to govern with an opposition majority in Congress.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

===Second term in office (1994–1999) ===
{{Main|Second Presidency of Rafael Caldera}}
{| class="wikitable aside" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em; width:225px;"
|+Venezuelan Presidential election 1993<ref>[http://www.cne.gov.ve/estadisticas/e006.pdf] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060617182630/http://www.cne.gov.ve/estadisticas/e006.pdf|date=17 June 2006}}</ref>
|-
! Candidates !! Votes !! %
|-
| Rafael Caldera || 1,710,722 || 30.46%
|-
| Claudio Fermín || 1,325,287 || 23.60%
|-
| Oswaldo Alvarez Paz || 1,276,506 || 22.73%
|-
| Andrés Velásquez || 1,232,653 || 21.95%
|-
| Abstention: || 3,859,579 || 39.84%
|-
| Total votes: || 5,829,216 ||
|}

Caldera's second administration inherited and faced three adversities of great magnitude: a steep decrease in oil prices, the economic recession and high inflation of 1993, and a huge banking crisis. The fiscal deficit forced Caldera's government to apply a severe austerity plan that included a ten per cent cut of the federal budget in 1994 and, simultaneously, a reform of fiscal legislation and the creation of [[SENIAT]], a new tax collection agency. In January 1994, less than a month before Rafael Caldera's inauguration, the second largest bank in Venezuela, [[Banco Latino]], failed and was taken over by the government. As of October 1994, the government had seized more than ten failed banks. As René Salgado explains in his research on government and economics in Venezuela, "the government's bailout of the financial sector guaranteed approximately 6 billion dollars to depositors, which represented roughly 75 percent of the annual national budget and an alarming 13 percent of the gross domestic product. Additional bank failures continued throughout the year and into 1995".<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov">[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/hlas/ss57govt-salgado.html Volume 57 / Social Sciences. Government and Politics: Venezuela – René Salgado]</ref>

In agreement with the [[International Monetary Fund]], Caldera implemented in 1996 a new economic plan, called ''{{ill|Agenda Venezuela|es}}'', which "increased domestic fuel prices, liberalized interest rates, unified the exchange rate system under a temporary float, abolished controls on current and capital transactions, eliminated price controls (except for medicines), and strengthened the social safety net".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/jan/04/rafael-caldera-obituary | title=Rafael Caldera obituary | newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

In 1997, gross domestic product ([[GDP]]) grew above five per cent and inflation rate was cut in half. The [[1997 Asian financial crisis]], however, brought oil prices to dramatic low levels, forcing government to make large budget cuts.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

A noteworthy achievement in this administration was the tripartite agreement over labor benefits, social security, and pension funds, reached between labor unions, the private business sector, and the State, after ten years of stalled negotiations.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

The fight against corruption was a central priority in Caldera's second term. In March 1996, as the GlobalSecurity organization describes, "an epochal event occurred, hardly creating a ripple in the world press. In its third plenary session, the members of the [[Organization of American States]] (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Convention against Corruption. The Convention is often referred to as the Caldera Convention, after the President of Venezuela, who was one of the driving forces behind it".<ref name="globalsecurity.org"/>

President Caldera also insisted on making corruption the central theme of the [[Ibero-American Summit|VII Ibero-American Summit of Heads State and Government]], hosted by Venezuela in 1997. The renowned Venezuelan economist [[Moises Naim|Moises Naím]], a former member of Pérez' ministerial cabinet, and an outspoken critic of Caldera, argues that despite these efforts, Caldera's administration was however "particularly ineffectual in bringing to justice the many regulators and bankers responsible for the country's massive banking crisis".<ref>[https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2001/03/the-venezuelan-story-revisiting-the-conventional-wisdom?lang=en "The Venezuelan Story: Revisiting the Conventional Wisdom"; by Moisés Naim (2001) – Carnegie Endowment For International Peace]</ref> 
[[File:1994. Febrero, 7. Rafael Caldera en su segunda presidencia.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Caldera during his second term, 1994]]
Notwithstanding federal budget limitations, Caldera's administration developed major infrastructure projects, including two water dams the Macagua II in Guayana and the Taguaza in Caracas; the regional central aqueduct in Valencia; the Mérida-El Vigía superhighway and portions of the Centro-Occidental, José Antonio Páez, and Rómulo Betancourt highways. This administration also concluded Line 3 of the [[Caracas Metro]], the [[Jacobo Borges]] and the [[Carlos Cruz-Diez|Cruz-Diez]] museums, and brought to near completion the Caracas-[[Cúa]] railroad and the Yacambú-Quíbor hydrological complex.<ref>Government of the Republic of Venezuela. ''Compromiso solidario: Selección de discursos del quinto año de gobierno'' (Venezuela: Presidencia de la República, 1999)</ref>

At the beginning of his second term, Caldera pardoned the military officers responsible for the [[1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts|failed coups of 4 February and 27 November 1992]], a policy aimed at pacifying the insurgent military force. Many critics question in hindsight Caldera's decision. [[Hugo Chávez]] rose to popularity and won the presidential election in 1998. The pervasiveness of this criticism grew hand in hand with Chávez's policies, to the point that many have come to blame Caldera for Chávez's and afterwards [[Nicolás Maduro]]'s governments.<ref name="lcweb2.loc.gov"/>{{Failed verification|date=April 2022}}

This body of work increased significantly after the academic events organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Caldera's birth. Parallel efforts on the legacy of [[Rómulo Betancourt|Betancourt]],<ref>[http://www.c3ig.com/webFRBAgosto2006/EdicioElectroFRB.htm Rómulo Betancourt Foundation]</ref> [[Raúl Leoni|Leoni]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lVhuAAAAMAAJ Biography of Raúl Leoni by Rafael Arráiz Lucca – El Nacional /Bancaribe (2005)]</ref> [[Jóvito Villalba|Villalba]],<ref>[http://historico.prodavinci.com/blogs/jovito-villalba-el-hombre-que-no-quiso-ser-presidente-por-francisco-suniaga/ {{in lang|es}} Jóvito Villalba, el hombre que no quiso ser presidente; por Francisco Suniaga – Prodavinci]</ref> [[Carlos Andrés Pérez|Pérez]],<ref>[https://elpais.com/cultura/2017/01/01/actualidad/1483287592_745271.html {{in lang|es}} La pantalla reivindica a Carlos Andrés Pérez; Alfredo Meza – El País]</ref> [[Luis Herrera Campins|Herrera Campíns]],<ref name = "LHC">Ramón Guillermo Aveledo ''El Llanero Solidario: Verdades ignoradas sobre Luis Herrera Campíns y su tiempo''. Caracas: Libros Marcados, 2012. 316 p.</ref> and [[Arístides Calvani|Calvani]].<ref>[http://dialogopolitico.org/testimonios/aristides-calvani-y-la-fundacion-konrad-adenauer/ {{in lang|es}} Arístides Calvani y la Fundación Konrad Adenauer; H. C. Josef Thesing – Diálogo Político]</ref>

==Political thought==

[[File:1981. Julio, 1. Colocando flores en la tumba de Raissa y Jacques Maritain, en Kolbsheim, Alsace, Francia.jpg|thumb|210px|left|Rafael Caldera paying tribute at the tombs of Raissa and [[Jacques Maritain]], Kolbsheim, Alsace, France. 1 July 1981.]]
Caldera pioneered the introduction of [[Christian Democracy]] into [[Latin America]]. He explained that Christian Democrats understand democracy in the light of Christian philosophy, and Christianity in its living democratic manifestation. For Caldera, Christian Democracy was not a middle point between liberalism and socialism. He saw it as a specific political alternative to [[laissez-faire]] capitalism and [[Socialist mode of production|Marxist socialism]]. Caldera rejected Marxist ideas of dialectical materialism and class struggle, but he was also convinced that Capitalism without social safeguards produces a grossly inequitable society.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Caldera published several books and countless booklets and speeches on Christian Democratic ideals, including Ideario: ''La Democracia Cristiana en América Latina'' (1970),<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/ideario/ Ideario: La Democracia Cristiana en América Latina (1970) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> ''Justicia Social Internacional y Nacionalismo Latinoamericano'' (1973), ''El Bien Común Universal y la Justicia Social Internacional'' (1976), and ''Reflexiones de la Rábida'' (1976).{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

His ''Especificidad de la Democracia Cristiana'' (Christian Democracy) (1972), a handbook of Christian democratic principles and programmatic ideas, has been translated into several languages, including English, German, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Romanian, and Polish. In this book, Caldera develops a conception of democracy that integrates personalist, pluralistic, communitarian, participatory and organic dimensions.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

This understanding of democracy, Caldera explains, rests upon foundational principles of Christian philosophy: affirmation of the spiritual, the subordination of politics to ethical norms, the dignity of the human person, the primacy of the common good, and the perfectibility of civil society. Caldera describes the concept of integral human development, the fundamental value of labor, the social function and forms of property, the role of the State in social life, the principle of subsidiarity, the defense of the rights of social groups, and the concept of international social justice. He viewed these principles as a set of political ideas committed to social justice and inspired by the [[Catholic social teaching]].<ref name = "EDC">Rafael Caldera, ''Christian Democracy'' (Caracas: Ifedec, 1982), 27–67.</ref>

The concept of "international social justice" was perhaps Caldera's most unique and original contribution to the body of Christian Democratic thought. In the speech he delivered to the joint session of the [[US Congress]] in 1970, he explained:

{{cquote|I believe in international social justice. Recalling Aristotle's old aphorism that justice demands that we render "to each his own" may I remind you that in the transformation of his thought in Christian philosophy, "his own" does not evoke exclusively that which belongs to each individual but also the idea of that which belongs to "society" for the "common good". No difficulty lies in transferring this concept onto the international community.
Just as "society" in the international ambit has the right to impose distinct types of relationships on its members, so the "international community," if it exists, demands that the various nations participate in proportion to their capacity in order that "all" may lead what could be termed a human existence. The rights and the obligations of the different countries should be measured, therefore, in terms of its potential and the needs of each one, making peace, progress, and harmony viable, and making it possible for us all to advance within a true friendship…

One of the most important aspects of the present drama is that international life, in spite of the multiplication of organizations and programs, some of them very noble and useful, has not yet had full consciousness of the existence of an international community… Instead of being ruled by the norms of human solidarity, international life is still tied to norms, concepts and procedures taken from obsolete systems of moral and juridical individualism, in spite of the fact that in the internal life of nations this individualism has been suffering for a long time one defeat after another…The idea of "common good" has not been elevated into a universal. The notion of social justice is still confined to the internal order of the individual state.

The idea of social justice which opened the way to one of the most interesting stages of human history gave rise to new branches of law, beginning with labor laws. It transformed archaic juridical systems based upon individualism. It opened roads to the establishment of a new balance and protected the organization of the weak so that they could be on a par, in doing juridical business, with those who had more strength, especially in those things related to economic power. But the victory of social justice is still incomplete, confined to the limits of the domestic law of each country… The obligation of parties in international relations are based on the old laissez-faire underpinning.<ref>[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1970-pt13/pdf/GPO-CRECB-1970-pt13-7-2.pdf House Congressional Record, 3 June 1970, p. 18133 – US Government Publishing Office]</ref>}} 
[[File:1987. Marzo 24. Discurso 20 Aniversario Populorum Progressio.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Rafael Caldera's speech in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the encyclical [[Populorum Progressio]]. Vatican City, 24 March 1987.]]
The substance of Caldera's concept of international social justice gradually influenced the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, beginning with Pope [[John XXIII]]'s Encyclical [[Mater et Magistra]]. Eventually, the term itself was included in official Vatican documents. Pope [[Paul VI]], for instance, in a letter written to the Secretary General of the United Nations, on the occasion of the Extraordinary General Assembly devoted to the study of the problem of raw materials and development, wrote: "The Church is firmly convinced that any acceptable solution must be based upon international social justice and upon human solidarity through which those principles can be practically applied.<ref name = "CG">Rafael Caldera, Rafael Caldera, "The Universal Common Good and International Social Justice." The Review of Politics, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Jan. 1976), 36</ref>

Perhaps there is no statement that better captures the essence of Caldera's political ideals than the words that Pope John Paul II used in his address to President Caldera on 5 May 1995, on the occasion of the Venezuelan President's visit to the Vatican:

{{cquote|In the last few decades, Venezuela has known how to combine the reality of significant economic progress with the development of a program of freedom in the framework of a constitutional state and a sound democratic system, with the traditional yearning to implement Simon Bolivar's commitment to America and his dream to build a great nation, "less because of its size and wealth than because of its freedom and glory (cf. Letter from Kingston, 6 September 1915). . . It is just as important to stress the validity of the principle of the common good, with the double objective of serving each and every Venezuelan man and woman, and meeting their most basic needs, their noblest expectations, their loftiest personal and family aspirations on the one hand, and on the other, "to promote a human State," that is, to draft and implement policies destined to combat extreme wretchedness and poverty until they are totally eradicated to overcome unemployment and social marginalization by the creation of work and a just distribution of wealth…<ref>[https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/speeches/1995/may/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19950505_presidente-venezuela.html Address of his holiness John Paul II to the President of Venezuela, H.E. Mr. Rafael Caldera – Vatican.va]</ref>}}

==Intellectual and academic life==
[[File:1981. Diciembre, 6. Sesión solemne en honor a Andrés Bello de la Real Academia Española, Madrid.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Rafael Caldera at the [[Royal Spanish Academy]], during the solemn session in honor to the 200th Anniversary of [[Andrés Bello]]'s birth. 6 December 1981.]]
[[File:1998. Marzo, 22. Doctorado Honoris Causa de la Universidad de Paris, La Sorbona, Francia.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Rafael Caldera receiving the Honoris Causa degree from [[Paris-Sorbonne University]]. 22 March 1998.]]
Long viewed as the most principled and legally minded of Venezuela's presidents,<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-44976420091224 Two-time Venezuelan president Caldera dies at 93 – Reuters]</ref> Caldera was a man of learning, and an accomplished essayist and orator. Despite never having remained longer than one month outside Venezuela, he was fluent in English, French, and Italian, and proficient in German and Portuguese.

A full professor in Labor Law and Juridical Sociology at [[Central University of Venezuela]] and [[Andrés Bello Catholic University]], in Caracas, he taught almost without interruption from 1943 to 1968. Throughout his lifetime, Caldera was bestowed with honorary doctorates, degrees, and professorships from a dozen universities and academies in Venezuela, and from thirty universities worldwide, including: the [[Université catholique de Louvain|University of Louvain]] (1979), in [[Belgium]]; [[University of Perugia|Perugia]] (1973), in [[Italy]]; [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem|Hebrew of Jerusalem]] (1981), in [[Israel]]; [[University of Notre Dame|Notre Dame]] (1964) and the [[Catholic University of America]] (1980), in the [[United States]]; [[Renmin University of China|Renmin]] (1993), in [[China]]; and [[University of Paris|The Sorbonne]] (1998), in [[France]]. The distinction Caldera most cherished, however, was the Honorary Professor award with which his alma mater, Central University of Venezuela, unanimously honored him in 1976.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In 1953, Caldera was elected to the Venezuelan National Academy of Political and Social Sciences. His induction speech was entitled "Idea de una sociología venezolana",<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/idea-una-sociologia-venezolana-1953/ Idea de una sociología venezolana (1953) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> an exposition of key elements for the development of sociological studies in the country. In 1967, he was elected to the [[Academia Venezolana de la Lengua|Venezuelan National Academy of Language]]. He devoted his induction speech, "El lenguaje como vínculo social y la integración latinoamericana" to language as a social link for Latin American integration.<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/discurso-de-incorporacion-de-rafael-caldera-a-la-academia-venezolana-de-la-lengua-1967/ Discurso de incorporación de Rafael Caldera a la Academia Venezolana de la Lengua (1967) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref>

Throughout his life, Caldera maintained his passion for the Venezuelan man-of-letters [[Andrés Bello]]. To his early book Andrés Bello, he added a considerable number of essays, prologues, and book chapters, including, among others, "El pensamiento jurídico y social de Andrés Bello" (1988),<ref name = "PJS">Rafael Caldera, ''El Pensamiento Jurídico y Social de Andrés Bello''. La Casa de Bello (Foreword Volume XV Complete Works of Andrés Bello), 1988.</ref> "Andrés Bello: Bicentenario de su nacimiento" (1981),<ref name = "BAB">''Andrés Bello: bicentenario de su nacimiento.'' Caracas: Fundación Casa Andrés Bello, 1981. 90 p.</ref> and "Caracas, Londres, Santiago de Chile: Las tres etapas de la vida de Bello" (1981).<ref name = "CLon">Rafael Caldera, ''Caracas, Londres, Santiago De Chile: Las Tres Etapas de la Vida de Bello'' (1981). Ediciones de La Casa de Bello, Cromotip, 1981. Translated to English, Caracas, 1981.</ref>

Caldera also wrote extensively on key personalities and events in Venezuela's history. His book ''Bolivar siempre''<ref name = "BS">Rafael Caldera, ''Bolívar siempre''. Caracas: National Academy of History (Col. El libro menor, 119), 1987. 253 p.</ref> is a collection of essays on the timeliness of [[Simon Bolivar]]'s political ideals. To this genre also belong such texts as "El general Páez de a pie" (1940),<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/el-general-paez-de-a-pie/ El general Páez de a pie – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> "Antonio José de Sucre: Demasiado joven para tanta gloria" (1980),<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/antonio-jose-de-sucre/ Antonio José de Sucre: Demasiado joven para tanta gloria – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> "Eleazar López Contreras, lindero y puente entre dos épocas" (1973), and "Andrés Eloy Blanco, el amortiguador de la Constituyente" (1958), compiled many of them in different editions of the book ''Moldes para la fragua''.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Especially notable is the monograph Caldera dedicated to the analysis of [[Romulo Betancourt]]'s foundational role in the construction of Venezuela's democracy, "La parábola vital de Rómulo Betancourt" (1988).<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/la-parabola-vital-de-romulo-betancourt/ La parábola vital de Rómulo Betancourt – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref>

The various texts Caldera devoted to reflections on the intersection between faith and public service are key to understand the spiritual drive behind his unwavering commitment to political and intellectual pursuits. Any thorough analysis of the life and works of Rafael Caldera must include ''La Hora de Emaús'' (1956), as well as such texts as "Aquel obrero que llamamos Cristo"(1956), "Lo político y lo religioso dentro de lo social, a propósito de Luigi Sturzo" (1953), "Jacques Maritain: Fe en Dios y en el pueblo" (1980), "Los valores cristianos" (1971), and the commencement speech "Un mensaje de fe" (1971),<ref>[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/mensaje-fe-1971/ Un mensaje de fe (1971) – rafaelcaldera.com]</ref> that Caldera delivered at the high school graduation ceremony of his son Andrés.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

== Last years and death ==
[[File:2006. Enero, 24. Cumpleaños número 90 de Rafael Caldera.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Rafael Caldera's 90th birthday celebration with six grandchildren. Caldera-Pietri's residence. Tinajero, 24 January 2006.]]
At the conclusion of his presidency, Caldera returned to his home, just as he did at the end of his first term. He was known for living simply and eschewing luxuries, and for being an honorable public servant in a country where corruption is pervasive.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/24/AR2009122402777.html?noredirect=on Rafael Caldera dies; president led Venezuela to democracy – Washington Post]</ref> In 1999, when President [[Hugo Chávez|Chávez]] called for a [[1999 Constituent National Assembly|constituent assembly]], Caldera protested against the violation of the 1961 Constitution. Allan Brewer-Carías, a Venezuelan legal scholar and elected member of this assembly, explains that this constitution-making body was an instrument for the gradual dismantling of democratic institutions and values.<ref name = "ABC">Allan Brewer-Carías, ''Dismantling Democracy in Venezuela'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), 33–35</ref>
 
In 1999, Caldera published his last book, ''De Carabobo a Puntofijo: Los Causahabientes'' (From [[Battle of Carabobo|Carabobo]] to [[Puntofijo Pact|Puntofijo]], The Causates), a political history of Venezuela from 1830 to 1958. This book includes in its postscript an assessment of Venezuela's democratic experience from 1958 to 1999, and criticism of the Bolivarian government.<ref name = "DCAP">Rafael Caldera: ''Los causahabientes. De Carabobo a Puntofijo''. (Venezuela: Panapo de Venezuela, 1999. {{ISBN|980-366-237-6}}), 175</ref>

Gravely affected by [[Parkinson's disease]], Caldera gradually withdrew from public view and died in his home on Christmas Eve 2009.<ref name="Two-time Venezuelan president Caldera dies at 93">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BN2ZB20091224|title=Two-time Venezuelan president Caldera dies at 93|date=24 December 2009|access-date=2009-12-24|work=Reuters}}</ref>
 
A family man and devout Catholic, he married [[Alicia Pietri Montemayor]] on 6 August 1941. They had six children: Mireya, Rafael Tomás, Juan José, Alicia Helena, Cecilia and Andrés. At the time of his death, the couple had twelve grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Mrs. Caldera died a little more than a year after her husband, on 9 February 2011.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

== Works ==
[[File:1977. Abril, 19. Presentación de la edición en inglés libro Andrés Bello.jpg|thumb|210px|right|Caldera during the presentation in London of the English translation of his biography about humanist Andrés Bello (1977).]]
* ''Andrés Bello'' (1935)
* ''Derecho del trabajo'' (1939)
* ''El Bloque Latinoamericano'' (1961)
* ''Moldes para la fragua'' (1962)
* ''Democracia Cristiana y Desarrollo'' (1964)
*''Ideario. La democracia cristiana en América Latina'' (1970)
* ''Especificidad de la democracia cristiana'' (1972)
* ''Temas de sociología venezolana'' (1973)
* ''Justicia social internacional y Nacionalismo latinoamericano'' (1973)
* ''La nacionalización del petróleo'' (1975)
* ''Reflexiones de la Rábida'' (1976)
* ''Parlamento mundial: una voz latinoamericana'' (1984)
* ''Bolívar siempre'' (1987)
* ''Los causahabientes, de Carabobo a Puntofijo'' (1999)

===Rafael Caldera Library===
* ''La Venezuela civil, constructores de la república'' (2014)
* ''Los desafíos a la gobernabilidad democrática'' (2014)
* ''Justicia Social Internacional'' (2014)
* ''Frente a Chávez'' (2015)
* ''Andrés Bello'' (2015)
* ''Moldes para la fragua. Nueva Serie'' (2016)
* ''Ganar la patria'' (2016)
* ''De Carabobo a Puntofijo'' (2017)
* ''Derecho al Trabajo'' (2017)

== Honors ==
===Selected honors in Venezuela===
*Order [[Order of the Liberator|"Libertador"]] (Collar).
*Order [[Order of Francisco de Miranda|"Francisco de Miranda"]] (Brilliant).
*Order "Andres Bello" (Collar).
*Order "José María Vargas" (Central University of Venezuela).
*Medal "Antonio José de Sucre".
*Order "Estrella de Carabobo", Venezuelan Army.

===Selected honors from Latin American countries===
*{{Flag|Argentina}}: Collar [[Order of the Liberator General San Martín]].
*{{Flag|Bolivia}}: Great Collar [[Order of the Condor of the Andes]].
*{{Flag|Brazil}}: Great Collar [[Order of the Southern Cross]].
*{{Flag|Peru}}: Great Brilliant Cross [[Order of the Sun of Peru]].
*{{Flag|Colombia}}: Great Collar [[Order of Boyaca]].
*{{Flag|Colombia}}: Collar "Orden Nacional de Miguel Antonio Caro y Rufino José Cuervo".
*{{Flag|Chile}}: Order Grade Great Official "Simon Bolívar".
*{{Flag|Ecuador}}: Great Collar "Orden Nacional al Mérito".
*{{Flag|Paraguay}}: Collar "Orden Mariscal Francisco Solano López".
*{{Flag|Mexico}}: Collar [[Order of the Aztec Eagle]].
*{{Flag|El Salvador}}: Great Extraodriary Cross [[Order of José Matías Delgado]].
*{{Flag|Dominican Republic}}: [[Order of Christopher Columbus]].
*{{Flag|Uruguay}}: [[Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Resolución N° 1068/995|url=https://www.impo.com.uy/bases/resoluciones/1068-1995|access-date=2020-11-26|website=impo.com.uy}}</ref>

===Selected honors from European countries===
*{{Flag|Vatican City}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Pope Pius IX|Pian Order]].
*{{Flag|Netherlands}}: [[Order of the Netherlands Lion|Orde van de Nederlandse Leeuw]].
*{{Flag|Netherlands}}: Saint Gregorio Magno Magna Cross.
*{{Flag|Romania}}: Star Order of the Socialist Republic of Romania.
*{{Flag|Spain}}: Collar of the Order [[Order of Isabella the Catholic|"Isabel La Católica"]].
*{{Flag|Spain}}: Great Military Cross of [[Order of Charles III]].
*{{Flag|Rome}}: Order [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic|"Cavaliere di Gran Croce"]].
*{{Flag|Lithuania}}: [[Order of Vytautas the Great]]<ref>Lithuanian Presidency website, [http://www.lrp.lt/lt/prezidento_veikla/apdovanojimai/apdovanojimai_256/p40.html search form]</ref>
*{{Flag|Portugal}}: Great Collar of the Infante Dom Henrique of the Government of Portugal.
*{{Flag|France}}: Great Cross [[Legion of Honour]] of the French Republic.

== Further reading ==
*Arraiz Luca, Rafael, comp. ''Rafael Caldera: Estadista y Pacificador'' (Caracas: Ediciones B Venezuela, 2016)
*Aveledo Coll, Guillermo. [http://dialogopolitico.org/actualidad/caldera-cien-anos/ "Caldera: cien años"]
*Caballero, Manuel. [https://books.google.com/books?id=RAMFH1J2UlMC "La gran marcha del presidente Caldera"]. (Caracas: Editorial Alfa, 2004)
*Caldera Pietri, Andrés. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/compromiso-ideal-andres-caldera-pietri-2017/ "El compromiso con el ideal"]
*Caldera, Juan José. ''[http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/testimonio-juan-jose-caldera-2014/ Mi testimonio]''
*Caldera, Rafael Tomás. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/caldera-rafael-tomas-la-leccion-perenne/ "La lección perenne de Rafael Caldera"] 
*_______., [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/el-orador-en-la-republica-rafael-tomas-caldera-2011/ "El orador de la República"] 
*_______., [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/caldera-rafael-tomas-fondo-etico-la-politica/ "El fondo ético de la política"]
*Cárdenas, Rodolfo José. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/como-es-caldera-por-rodolfo-jose-cardenas/ "¿Cómo es Caldera?"]
*Carthay, Gehard. ''Caldera y Betancourt''. Caracas: Ediciones Centauro, 1987.
*Ewell, Judith. ''Venezuela: A Century of Change'' (1985)
*Gómez Grillo, Elio. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/gomez-grillo-elio-discurso-de-orden-en-el-palacio-de-las-academias/ "Discurso de orden en el Palacio de las Academias"] 
*Grisanti, Luis Xavier. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/grisanti-luis-xavier-caldera-y-el-nacionalismo-energetico/ "Caldera y el nacionalismo energético"]
*_______., [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/grisanti-luis-xavier-la-gestion-economica-energetica-del-presidente-caldera-i- "La gestión económica y energética del presidente Caldera I y II"] 
*Herman, Donald L. ''Christian Democracy in Venezuela'' (1980)
*Matheus, Juan Miguel. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/matheus-juan-miguel-ganar-la-republica-civil/ "Ganar la república civil"]
*Moleiro, Alonso. [http://elestimulo.com/blog/los-100-anos-de-rafael-caldera/ "Los 100 años de Rafael Caldera"]
*Morles Hernández, Alfredo. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/video/discurso-alfredo-morles-centenario-del-natalicio-rafael-caldera-2016/ "Rafael Caldera, jurista integral"] 
*Njaim, Humberto. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/njaim-humberto-las-lecciones-republicanas-de-rafael-caldera/ "Las lecciones republicanas de Rafael Caldera"] 
*Padrón, Paciano. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/caldera-civilista-sembrador-democracia-paciano-padron-2016/ "Caldera, civilista y sembrador de democracia"]
*Pino Iturrieta, Elías. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/pino-iturrieta-elias-doctor-caldpino-iturrieta-elias-el-doctor-calderaera/ "El doctor Rafael Caldera"]
*Pulido de Briceño, Mercedes. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/biografia-rafael-caldera-mercedes-pulido-de-briceno-2011/ Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez, el civilista] 
*Ramos Flamerich, Guillermo. [https://ramosflamerich.wordpress.com/2016/01/24/la-parabola-vital-de-rafael-caldera/ "La parábola vital de Rafael Caldera"] 
*Rodríguez Alonso, Joaquín. [http://rafaelcaldera.com/documento/rodriguez-alonso-joaquin-presentacion-de-moldes-para-la-fragua "Homenaje a Rafael Caldera"].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Venezuela}}
*[[Presidents of Venezuela]] 
*[[Political prisoners in Venezuela]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Rafael Caldera}}
*{{in lang|es}} [http://www.cidob.org/es/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/venezuela/rafael_caldera_rodriguez Extended bio by CIDOB Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130217141948/http://www.cidob.org/es/documentacion/biografias_lideres_politicos/america_del_sur/venezuela/rafael_caldera_rodriguez |date=17 February 2013 }}
*{{in lang|es}} [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngl3Zngn5_0 Interview to Rafael Caldera (RCTV, 19 September 1993) – YouTube] 
*{{in lang|es}} {{YouTube|CJudVL5MkYY|Rafael Caldera´s message to Venezuelan Youth in 1998}}
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/7020601/Rafael-Caldera.html Rafael Caldera] – Daily Telegraph obituary

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