Nicolás Maduro
A former bus driver and union leader who ascended to lead Venezuela, presiding over its profound economic collapse and political fracture.
Born 1962 (age 64)·President of Venezuela from 2013 to 2026·Birthday: November 23·Baby Boomers
Biography
Nicolás Maduro's rise is a story of loyalist politics in a nation built on oil. A former bus driver and union organizer, he found his political father figure in Hugo Chávez, becoming a steadfast lieutenant. As Foreign Minister and then Vice President, he was Chávez's chosen heir. Upon Chávez's death in 2013, Maduro narrowly won a disputed election, inheriting a country already facing economic headwinds. His presidency would be defined by a catastrophic downward spiral. Plunging oil prices, crippling U.S. sanctions, and alleged economic mismanagement led to hyperinflation, mass emigration, and humanitarian crisis. Maduro consolidated power through a loyal military and a rewritten constitution, facing down massive street protests and an international community that largely recognized a rival, Juan Guaidó, as interim president in 2019. His tenure remains one of the most contentious and tragic chapters in modern Latin American history.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Nicolás was born in 1962, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Nicolás Was Born
The biggest hits of 1962
#1 Movie
Lawrence of Arabia
Best Picture
Lawrence of Arabia
#1 TV Show
Beverly Hillbillies
Nicolás's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1962Born
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1967Started school
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Became a teenager
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1978Could drive
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1980Could vote
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1983Turned 21
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1992Turned 30
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 40
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2012Turned 50
Curiosity rover lands on Mars; Sandy Hook shooting
Gas: $3.64/galHome: $143,200Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Somebody That I Used to Know" — GotyeBest Picture: Argo
2022Turned 60
Russia invades Ukraine; Queen Elizabeth II dies
Gas: $3.97/galHome: $348,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"As It Was" — Harry StylesBest Picture: Everything Everywhere All at Once
2026Age 64 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the President of Venezuela from 2013, maintaining power despite widespread international condemnation and domestic opposition.
- Previously served as Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs and as Vice President under Hugo Chávez.
- Consolidated political control through the creation of a loyalist Constituent Assembly that bypassed the opposition-led National Assembly.
Did You Know?
In his youth, Maduro drove a bus for the Caracas Metro system and was a union representative for the drivers.
He has claimed that Chávez's spirit once appeared to him in the form of a little bird.
Maduro is known for his long, rambling televised speeches, which he often delivers while sitting at a desk flanked by portraits of Simón Bolívar and Hugo Chávez.
“I am not a president who surrenders.”
