Copei

Copei
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Official leader	Enrique Mendoza
President	Roberto Enriquez
General secretary	Jesús Alberto Barrios
Founder	Rafael Caldera
Founded	January 13, 1946
Headquarters	Avenida La Gloria, El Bosque, Caracas
Youth wing	Juventud Demócrata Cristiana
Ideology	Christian democracy
Political position	Center-right
National affiliation	Democratic Unity Roundtable
International affiliation	Centrist Democrat International
Regional affiliation	Christian Democrat Organization of America
Colors	Green
National Assembly	6 / 165
States' Governors	0 / 23
Mayors	15 / 337
Website
www.partidocopei.com/site/
Politics of Venezuela Political parties Elections

Copei, also called Social Christian Party (Spanish: Partido Socialcristiano) or Green Party (Spanish: Partido Verde), is a Christian democratic party in Venezuela. The acronym stands for Comité de Organización Política Electoral Independiente ("Independent Political Electoral Organization Committee"), but this provisional full name has fallen out of use.

It was founded on January 13, 1946, by Rafael Caldera, who later served as president under the party's banner. Copei, along with Democratic Action, was the dominant Venezuelan party from 1958 to 1998. The only other Copei member to become president of Venezuela was Luis Herrera Campins, between 1979 and 1983. The party's leaders were Lorenzo Fernández, Eduardo Fernández and Oswaldo Álvarez Paz.

In the 2000 legislative elections the party won 5 of 165 seats in the National Assembly; 4 additional seats were won by an alliance with Democratic Action. In the 2005 legislative elections Copei staged an electoral boycott and so did not win any seats in the National Assembly. In the 2010 parliamentary election, Copei was part of the broad oppositional Coalition for Democratic Unity and won 8 of the 165 seats.

Venezuelan Presidents by COPEI

President	Dates in office	Form of entry	Occupation
Rafael Caldera	1969–1974	Direct elections	Lawyer
Luis Herrera Campins	1979–1984	Direct elections	Lawyer

External links

• Official website