Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa

Luis Beltrán Prieto Figueroa (14 March 1902 – 22 April 1993), was a Venezuelan politician. A founder of Democratic Action and minister of education in its first government (1947–1948), he was a leader of Democratic Action after the restoration of democracy in 1958. He split from Democratic Action in 1967 when it tried to prevent his victory in district-level primary elections for the 1968 presidential race translating into Prieto Figueroa winning the nomination. He and a substantial group of supporters split from AD and founded the People's Electoral Movement, which he led until his death. he became engaged in politics, and was a senator from 1936 to 1941. and President of AD (1963–67). However in spring 1967 the party decided to hold primary elections at local level, with district representatives to district conventions elected by the mass membership instead of party committees. Prieto Figueroa split from AD over the affair along with a substantial number of his supporters, founding the People's Electoral Movement. As its candidate in the 1968 election he gained nearly 20% of the vote, coming fourth in a close election (COPEI's Rafael Caldera won with 29%). However Prieto's subsequent electoral run, in the 1978 Venezuelan presidential election (the party endorsed Jesús Ángel Paz Galarraga in 1973), achieved only just over 1%.

Books Las ideas no se degüellan (1980) Pido la palabra (1982) Mi hermana María Secundina y otras escrituras (1984)