Rafael Urdaneta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rafael José Urdaneta y Faría (October 24, 1788 – August 23, 1845) was a hero of the Latin American war for independence.

Urdaneta was born in the province of Maracaibo in Venezuela to an aristocratic family of Spanish descent. Prior to the independence war he was a student of Latin and philosophy, and an officer for the Royal Houses of Spain.

After the 1810 declaration of independence, Urdaneta, from Caracas, joined the patriotic ranks in the war against Spain. A few years later, through illustrious gallantry he became Simón Bolívar's right hand and General of the Patriotic Army.

Secretary of Military and Defense, Senator of Congress on numerous occasions, Urdaneta notably took control of the government in Colombia in September of 1830, hoping, in part, of having Bolívar return as president (Bolívar had left Bogotá earlier that May for a journey to Europe and would be dead of tuberculosis before the end of the year). However, Urdaneta's government eventually fell to forces allied to Francisco de Paula Santander.

Urdaneta "The Brilliant", died in Paris in 1845, due to kidney stones.