( CNN ) -- He began his career as a bus driver in Caracas , and then rose through the ranks to become a member of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez 's inner circle . Now Vice President Nicolas Maduro is the country 's interim leader . Chavez died Tuesday after a long battle with cancer . He had been Venezuela 's president since 1999 . Venezuela will hold elections in 30 days and Maduro is assuming the presidency during the interim period , Foreign Minister Elias Jaua told state-run VTV on Tuesday . U.S. reaction to Chavez 's death : from mourning to celebration . Shortly before his last trip to Cuba for cancer surgery , Chavez tapped Maduro as his replacement `` if something were to happen that would incapacitate me '' and called for voters to support him . `` My firm opinion , as clear as the full moon -- irrevocable , absolute , total -- is ... that you elect Nicolas Maduro as president , '' Chavez said in early December , waving a copy of the Venezuelan Constitution as he spoke . `` I ask this of you from my heart . He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue , if I can not . '' That televised address marked the first time the Venezuelan president had specified a successor since he announced he had cancer in June 2011 . Maduro , 50 , has long been a high-profile face in Chavez 's administration . Serving as both the country 's vice president and foreign minister , he often was seen in the front row of Chavez 's press conferences and traveled to Cuba many times alongside Chavez as he underwent cancer treatment . U.S. open to 'more constructive relationship ' with Venezuela . `` He is without a doubt one of the ministers who is closest to Chavez , '' political analyst German Campos told CNN en EspaÃ±ol after Chavez tapped Maduro as vice president in October . As foreign minister , Maduro was the country 's top diplomat as ties grew with Cuba and tensions rose with the United States . In recent years , he has been an outspoken critic of U.S. policies toward Venezuela . When the Treasury Department added four Venezuelan officials to its drug kingpin list in 2011 , Maduro accused the U.S. agency of acting as `` a sort of world police agency '' that has falsely named `` decent citizens of our country ... as drug traffickers . '' `` A country like that has no moral authority to judge generals and political officials in Venezuela , '' he said . `` We reject it and we believe that the drug trafficking mafias are there , in a sick society like the United States . '' After security screeners detained him at New York 's John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2006 , Maduro called the U.S. government `` racist '' and `` Nazi '' and said the United States does not appreciate Latin American countries . But Maduro does n't always take an extreme tack , said Javier Corrales , a professor of political science at Amherst College in Massachusetts . Hugo Chavez 's death draws sympathy , anger . `` On the one hand , he has been behind some of the most radical , crazy foreign policy decisions of the Chavez administration . Support for Libya , you name it , all the radical decisions , he has been behind them , '' Corrales said . `` But he also has been behind some of the most pragmatic and conciliatory decisions , including the turnaround in relations with Colombia . '' That 's a marked contrast with the inflammatory Chavez , who rarely turned to compromise , Corrales said . Before his role representing Venezuela abroad , Maduro honed his political skills at home . He became a union leader while working for the Caracas metro system . After Chavez came to power in 1999 , Maduro helped draft a new constitution . He served as a congressman until 2006 , when he was tapped as foreign minister . As Maduro temporarily assumes the presidency , analysts have said it 's difficult to tell whether anyone else from Chavez 's United Socialist Party of Venezuela will have what it takes to win at the polls . They note that Chavez 's political strength was largely fueled by his ability to personally connect with throngs of dedicated followers -- dubbed `` Chavistas '' for their devotion to the president . And that personal connection with his supporters is `` what 's held things together in Venezuela , '' according to Michael Shifter , president of the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue think tank . Opinion : After Chavez , a power vacuum . Polls have indicated that several possible successors from within the party 's ranks have n't generated the same kind of enthusiasm among Chavez 's supporters . A February 2012 poll by the Datanalisis firm showed Maduro with 9.8 % support among militant members of Chavez 's United Socialist Party of Venezuela . But that was before Chavez 's remarks supporting Maduro , which were seen as likely to bolster support for the vice president within the government and among fervent Chavistas , Corrales said . `` When popular presidents make an endorsement , that always has an effect , '' Corrales said . When he named Maduro as vice president , Chavez noted his extensive experience on `` different battlefronts . '' `` The bourgeoisie make fun of Nicolas Maduro because he was a bus driver , '' Chavez said , `` and look where he 's going now . '' Chavez leaves a revolutionary legacy .
Analyst : He was behind radical foreign policy decisions , also compromises . Hugo Chavez asked Maduro to replace him if his health worsened . Maduro has been Venezuela 's vice president and foreign minister . He started his career as a bus driver and later became a union leader and a politician .