MEXICO CITY, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday that President Hugo Chavez died at the age of 58 in a military hospital in Caracas.
The following are major events in Chavez's administrations.
Dec. 6, 1998, Chavez, as the candidate of the leftist "Patriotic Pole," won 56 percent of the vote and became president for the 1999-2004 term.
Dec. 15, 1999, Venezuela's new constitution won majority approval in a referendum. Chavez captured 70 percent of the votes in a referendum on a new constitution that expanded executive power.
According to the new constitution, the presidential term was extended from five years to six and allow all incumbents to be reelected. It also changed the country's name to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
July 30, 2000, Chavez was reelected president under the new constitution.
April 11, 2002, Chavez was ousted in a brief coup by business leaders and dissident military officers. He was reinstated just three days later by troops loyal to his government. And on Nov. 8, the Venezuelan government began dialogue with the opposition under the mediation of the Organization of American States, the Carter Center and the UN Development Program.
May 29, 2003, the Venezuelan government and the opposition signed an political agreement aimed at paving the way to end the 14-month political crisis in the country.
Aug. 15, 2004, Chavez won a recall referendum and remained in office.
Dec. 3, 2006, Chavez was reelected as president for a second term.
Dec. 2, 2007, Venezuela held a referendum that focused on a proposed amendment to the constitution. The referendum, initiated by Chavez, would decide whether the six-year presidential term should be lengthened to seven years and term limits eliminated. At last, Chavez lost the referendum on constitutional changes.
February 2008, Chavez became president of the United Socialist Party until 2013.
Feb. 15, 2009, Chavez won a constitutional referendum that lifted the limit on presidential terms, allowing him to run in the presidential election in 2012.
Oct. 7, 2012, Chavez was reelected to a third six-year term with 55.07 percent of the vote, despite his well-known battle with cancer.
Chavez, who had been in power for 14 years, could not be sworn in as scheduled on Jan. 10, 2013, due to his serious health problems. After seeking medical treatment for 70 days in Cuba, he returned home on Feb. 18, 2013. Since then, he had stayed in the Caracas military hospital.
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