Hugo Chavez was the fiery populist who declared a socialist revolution in Venezuela, crusaded against US influence and championed a leftist revival across Latin America.
Chavez saw himself as the heir of 19th century independence leader Simon Bolivar and hoped to fulfil Bolivar’s broken dream of a united South America
During nearly 14 years in office, Chavez was Latin America’s most controversial and vocal leader, a perennial maverick who tried to shake up the status quo at home and internationally.
He polarised Venezuelans with his confrontational and domineering style, yet was also a masterful communicator and strategist who tapped into Venezuelan nationalism.
He repeatedly proved himself a political survivor. As an army paratroop commander, he led a failed coup in 1992, then was pardoned and elected President in 1998.
He won re-election three times and withstood a coup attempt in 2002 led by disgruntled military leaders.
Before his struggle with cancer, he appeared on television almost daily, often talking for hours at a time, but his illness gradually forced Chavez to cut back on his speeches and public appearances.
He underwent surgery in Cuba in June 2011 to remove what he said was a baseball-sized tumour from his pelvic region.
After chemotherapy, he said tests showed no signs of cancerous cells in his body, but the following February he underwent another operation that removed a second tumour from the same area, and in March and April had radiation treatment in Havana, Cuba.
Before winning re-election last year, he said tests had shown he was cancer-free.
Chavez saw himself as the heir of 19th century independence leader Simon Bolivar and hoped to fulfil Bolivar’s broken dream of a united South America. He used Venezuela’s oil wealth to court allies by doling out aid and preferential oil deals.
He was also inspired by his mentor Fidel Castro, and took on the ageing Cuban leader’s role as Washington’s chief antagonist in the western hemisphere.
Throughout the battles Chavez waged at home and abroad, he captivated his base by championing his country’s long-ignored poor.
He poured his country’s oil wealth into social programmes ranging from state-run food markets to free adult education schemes.
Official statistics showed poverty rates declined from 50 per cent at the beginning of his term in 1999 to 32 per cent in the second half of 2011.
Chavez also held on to support through sheer charisma and charm, and his career was filled with moments that played well for the cameras.
In a 2006 speech to the UN General Assembly, he called then President George W. Bush “the devil”, saying the podium reeked of sulphur after Bush’s address.
Three years later, in front of photographers, he gave US President Barack Obama a copy of a book by Eduardo Galeano – The Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent – which chronicles US and European economic and political interference in the region.
Critics saw Chavez as a typical Latin American strongman who ruled through force of personality and showed disdain for democratic rules. He concentrated power in his hands as his allies dominated Parliament.Some opponents faced criminal charges and were driven into exile.
Chavez insisted all the while that Venezuela remained a vibrant democracy and denied trying to restrict free speech. He frequently trumpeted socialism, and his government seized private farmland and nationalised companies, but the balance between Venezuela’s public and private sectors changed little during his presidency.