Born as Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias to local schoolteachers in the poor village of Sabaneta, Barinas on July 28, 1954, Chavez went on to lead an impressive military career. Inspired mostly by Venezuelan revolutionary Simon Bolivar, Chavez led an unsuccessful coup to oust Venezuelan then-president Carlos Perez. Although arrested for his attempts, Chavez's vigor and revolutionary zeal ultimately landed him in Venezuelan Presidential seat in 1998.
Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
