Ernesto Villegas Poljak, now permanent ambassador to UNESCO. Photo: Foreign Affairs Ministry of Venezuela.
During Tuesday’s ordinary session, Venezuela’s National Assembly approved the appointment of journalist Ernesto Villegas Poljak as permanent ambassador of Venezuela to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Deputy Adolfo Pereira, a member of Venezuela’s Interior Policy Commission, presented the report to the full assembly and noted that Venezuela has been a member of this multilateral body since 1946.
“Venezuela’s participation in UNESCO allows our country to strengthen cultural policies against the illicit trafficking of culturally significant goods,” said Pereira. He also recalled that during the presidency of Hugo Chávez, the organisation declared the country free of illiteracy.
Regarding Villegas’s profile, the parliamentarian highlighted Villegas’ career as a journalist, politician and writer. In the media sphere, he noted that Villegas served as president of Venezolana de Televisión (VTV) and was also founder and president of the newspaper Ciudad Caracas.
In terms of his political career, the legislator mentioned that Villegas held the posts of head of government of the Capital District, minister of state for the Revolutionary Transformation of Greater Caracas, minister of communication and information, and minister of culture.
Finally, regarding his literary work, Pereira noted that he is the author of works including April: Inside the Coup, a detailed account of the failed US-backed coup against President Chávez in 2002, for which he received the National Journalism Prize.
Following the presentation, the appointment was put to a vote and approved.
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(Alba Ciudad) by Últimas Noticias
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
