José González-Lander

Who was José González-Lander?

Jose Gonzalez-Lander was a Caracas, Venezuela born engineer credited for leading the planning, design and construction of the Caracas Metro during an uninterrupted period of more than thirty years, from 1966 to 1997.

Mr. Gonzalez-Lander dedicated his life to public service rising through the ranks of the Ministry of Public Works where he started as an assistant engineer when he was in his freshman year in engineering school. He graduated in 1958 with a degree in Civil Engineering from Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas. His graduation was delayed almost two years due to student unrest during the final years of General Marcos Pérez Jiménez' dictatorship. The Venezuelan government granted him a scholarship to attend graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he concentrated in Transportation Engineering and Economics.

On his return to Venezuela Mr. Gonzalez-Lander was put in charge of the Ministry of Public Works' Office of Transportation Planning where he spearheaded the design of the backbone of the future Caracas Metro system, a 20 km underground double track rail line connecting the East and West ends of the city. This effort would expand for 10 years before the project could muster enough public support for its construction.