Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan author and politician, 46th President of Venezuela (died 1969)

Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. In 1948, he became the first freely elected president in Venezuela's history. He was removed from power after only nine months by a military coup.

Under the Venezuelan Constitution, the president of Venezuela is the head of state and head of government of Venezuela. As chief of the executive branch and face of the government as a whole, the presidency is the highest political office in the country by influence and recognition. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. The president is directly elected through a popular vote to a six-year term. Since the 2009 constitutional referendum, any person can be elected to the office an indefinite number of times. Upon the death, resignation, or removal from office of an incumbent president, the vice president assumes the office. The president must be at least 30 years of age, and has to be a "natural born" citizen of Venezuela, and cannot possess any other citizenship.