Henrique Capriles

Henrique Capriles Radonski (; born 11 July 1972) is a Venezuelan politician and lawyer, who served as the 36th Governor of Miranda from 2008 to 2017.

Born in Caracas, he received a degree in law from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, and later in tax law from the Central University of Venezuela. He first ventured into politics at age 26, when he became the youngest member ever elected to the Venezuelan parliament. He secured a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in the 1998 parliamentary elections, under the Christian Democratic Party (Copei). He served as vice president of the Congress and president of the Chamber of Deputies until their dissolution by the Constituent Assembly in August 1999.

In 2000, he co-founded the political party Primero Justicia, alongside politicians Julio Borges and Leopoldo Lopez, and ran successfully for the mayorship of the Baruta municipality in the regional elections held in July 2000, and later for the governorship of the Miranda state in 2008. Capriles became the opposition candidate at the 2012 and 2013 presidential elections, and faced then-President Hugo Chávez and Vice President Nicolás Maduro respectively.

His defeat in 2012 marked the first loss of his political career. Maduro narrowly defeated Capriles in the 2013 elections, a result that sparked controversy and debate amid the opposition's claims of electoral fraud.

Capriles Radonski is of Sephardi Jewish and Ashkenazi Jewish descent – his grandparents emigrated from German and Russian occupied Poland during World War II; however, he self-describes as Catholic, revealing that his greatest hero in history was Jesus Christ. He dated Venezuelan actress Erika de la Vega between his first and second tenure as Mayor. Prior to his political career, he worked in the public and private sectors at several tax and law firms of Venezuela. Capriles is a member of the International Fiscal Association.

On 5 April 2017, Capriles was formally banned for 15 years from political activity accused by the Venezuelan government of alleged "administrative irregularities" which had occurred under his governorship. He ceased to be the Governor of Miranda in October after the 2017 regional elections, and subsequently declared his intent to leave the Democratic Unity Roundtable in protest against what he considered its legitimizing the Maduro government.

Early life Henrique Capriles Radonski was born in Caracas on 11 July 1972. His parents are Henrique Capriles García, a successful businessman, descendant of Juan Agustín Bolívar, who was half-brother of Simón Bolívar His maternal grandparents, Andrés Radonski and Lili Bochenek, emigrated to Venezuela in 1947 from Poland. Andrés Radonski was an engineer active in the cinema business in Poland; he opened his first cinema several years later, in the eastern city of Puerto La Cruz.

The company operated under the name Circuito Radonski. It was merged in 1998 alongside Venefilms and Grupo Blanco to create the country's largest cinema chain, Cinex.

Education Capriles enrolled at the Andrés Bello Catholic University to study commerce law. He received his degree in 1994, and then continued studies at the Central University of Venezuela. He received a degree in tax law several years later.

Mayor of Baruta (2000–2008) The Congress was replaced by the National Assembly, and new deputies were elected in a general election held, in 2000. That year, Capriles founded the political party Primero Justicia, alongside politicians Julio Borges and Leopoldo Lopez,

Capriles stated that he would not step down and that "I am and will continue being your governor until the people elects another governor". On 8 April 2017, the campaign headquarters for Capriles was attacked with tear gas and fires ignited inside of the building, destroying it.

On 11 April, Capriles used his decree powers to order a referendum to determine whether or not he should remain governor of Miranda state, challenging President Maduro to do the same with Venezuelans nationwide and promising he would resign if individuals voted for him to be removed from office. The order by the Comptroller General of Venezuela, if valid, would also prevent Capriles from running in the 2018 presidential election.

Capriles named former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as his political inspiration.

In February 2012, Capriles was subjected to attacks by state-run media sources.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Capriles "was exposed in [sic] a campaign in Venezuela's state-run media, which insinuated he was, among other things, a homosexual and a Zionist". mentioned Capriles's Jewish ancestry and a meeting he had held with local Jewish leaders, saying, "This is our enemy, the Zionism that Capriles today represents ... Zionism, along with capitalism, are responsible for 90% of world poverty and imperialist wars." Chávez repeatedly denied allegations of tolerating or promoting anti-Semitism.

In early September 2012, David De Lima, a former governor of Anzoategui, published a document he said showed secret MUD plans to implement much more neoliberal policy, if elected, than their public statements showed. De Lima claimed the document was a form of policy pact between some of the candidates in the MUD primary, including Capriles.

On 6 September 2012, opposition legislator William Ojeda denounced these plans and the "neoliberal obsessions" of his colleagues in the MUD; he was suspended by his A New Era party the following day. Capriles said his purported signature on the document was a forgery, while the MUD's economic advisor said that the MUD had "no hidden agenda", and that its plans included the "institutionalisation" of the government's Bolivarian Missions so that they would no longer be "subject to the whims of government". One small coalition party claimed De Lima had offered them money to withdraw from the MUD; De Lima denied the claim.

On 7 October 2012, Capriles lost the election to then-President Hugo Chávez.

2013 presidential election

Henrique Capriles in Cumaná, Venezuela, prior to the 2013 presidential elections. Capriles faced interim president Nicolás Maduro in a presidential election on 14 April 2013. Voters gave Maduro—who had assumed the role of acting president since Chávez's death—a narrow victory over Capriles. Capriles rejected the results of the election, claiming election irregularities and calling for a full audit of the election results. Maduro said he would accept an audit of the election results; the election board did not agree to opposition demands for a total recount.

The Supreme Court of Justice denied Capriles' appeal on 7 August 2013.

2025 National Assembly election

On April 2, 2025, the political disqualification was lifted, which had prevented Capriles from running for public office. Breaking with the abstentionist line followed by other parties, including Primero Justicia, Capriles registered as a candidate of the National Assembly. Capriles was elected as a deputy on the UNT–UNICA list.

Political analysis According to the Associated Press in 2017:

Personal life Capriles was raised a Catholic. His parents agreed to educate their children in the Catholic faith "until they were old enough to decide for themselves" as a "compromise".