a cooperation agreement with the German oil company VEBA for the establishment of a joint venture named Ruhr Oel GmbH. This event is considered the beginning of the internationalization of PDVSA. He was succeeded by Jaime Lusinchi, who took the office of President in 1984. Later life By the time Herrera's term ended, the economy was in meltdown, poverty and hardship were widespread and the voters turned on the ruling Christian Democrats, ejecting the party from office in the elections of December 1983. After the end of his presidency, Herrera remained influential in the Copei party, becoming its president in 1995. In 2001, Herrera made headlines when gunmen stole his car. Afterwards, he could be seen on foot wearing old clothes and carrying his own groceries. He underwent a series of surgeries for an abdominal aneurysm that led to a kidney infection and other complications. Herrera died on 9 November 2007 in Caracas at the age of 82, having already retired from Venezuelan politics. He suffered from Alzheimer's disease at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife Betty Urdaneta and three sons. See also Venezuela Presidents of Venezuela Viernes Negro References Luis Herrera Campins — Official biography (but rather biased, based on historical view of current Venezuelan administration) Luis Herrera Campins Obituary in The Times, 14 November 2007 Obituary from the International Herald Tribune 1925 births 2007 deaths People from Acarigua Venezuelan people of Spanish descent Copei politicians Presidents of Venezuela Members of the Venezuelan Chamber of Deputies Venezuelan life senators 20th-century Venezuelan lawyers Venezuelan journalists Central University of Venezuela alumni 20th-century journalists