FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2013, file photo, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, left, speaks with his Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez before the start of a press conference at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela. President Maduro has replaced on Tuesday Sept. 2, 2014, Venezuela's longtime oil minister and economic czar as part of a cabinet shakeup sidelining the most-prominent voice within his administration for much-needed reforms to address the country's economic crisis. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File)
September 02, 2014 - 7:45 PM
CARACAS, Venezuela - President Nicolas Maduro has replaced the Venezuela's longtime oil minister and economic czar as part of a cabinet shakeup sidelining the most-prominent voice within his administration for much-needed reforms to address the country's economic crisis.
Rafael Ramirez had served as oil minister and president of the state-run oil giant PDVSA for more than a decade.
Maduro made the announcement Tuesday night as part of a much-anticipated government restructuring. The president named Ramirez the new foreign minister.
Ramirez will be replaced in his previous jobs by lesser-known officials. He was also forced to give up his year-old post as top economic policy maker, from which he had argued for a currency overhaul and unpopular gas price hikes to help Venezuela tackle an economic crisis marked by 60 per cent inflation.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014