Army Lt. Col. Hugo Chavez, who led a 1992 attempted coup, speaks to reporters on March 26, 1994, after he was freed from jail. Chavez was freed after charges were dropped against him for leading the first of two attempted coups against the government of former President Carlos Andres Perez, who was later removed from office.
(CNN) -- The body of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will eventually be displayed publicly "just like Lenin (and) Mao Zedong," the country's vice president said Thursday on state-run TV.
"The body of our leader will be embalmed, and it will ... be surrounded by crystal glass forever, present forever, and always with his people," Nicolas Maduro said.
Maduro will be sworn in as interim president in a special session of the National Assembly at 7 p.m. Friday, said National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello on Thursday on Venezuelan state broadcaster VTV.
A man adjusts a banner before the start of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's funeral outside the Military Academy on Friday, March 8, in Caracas. Uncertainty swirled around what happens next in Venezuela as the deeply divided South American country mourned its late leader. Chavez, 58, died Tuesday, March 5, after a battle with cancer.
Photos: Venezuela in transition
Paying last respects to Hugo Chavez
The funeral for Chavez, who died at 58 Tuesday after a battle with cancer, will be held Friday in the capital, Caracas.
Attendees are expected to include Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Cuban leader Raul Castro and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Maduro said.
Venezuela is slated to hold elections 30 days after Chavez died, according to Foreign Minister Elias Jaua.
Hugo Chavez's death draws sympathy, anger
Maduro did not say when Chavez's final resting place, at a military museum, will be ready. But people still will be able to view Chavez's body -- lying in state in a wooden casket at a military academy in the capital -- for at least another week, he said.
"Everybody can see him without any limits," Maduro said. "We want anyone who wants to see him to have the chance to do so."
The South American nation is in a seven-day period of mourning, with schools closed for the week.
Chavez's body later will be displayed much like the remains of former revolutionary leaders Vladimir Lenin of Russia and China's Mao, Maduro said.
Venezuelans line streets for Chavez procession
CNN's Esprit Smith contributed to this report.
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Venezuelan president-elect Chavez visits Bogota, Colombia, on December 18, 1998. On December 6, Chavez had been elected the youngest president in Venezuela history.
President Chavez greets supporters with his then-wife, Marisabel Rodriguez de Chavez, beside him as he arrives to preside over a parade in his honor on February 4, 1999, in Caracas. Chavez was sworn in as president on February 2.
Chavez inspects military maneuvers of the national Air Force on March 17, 2001, in Catilletes near the border with Colombia. In June 2000, Chavez was re-elected to the presidency for a six-year term, under the new constitution created by his government in 1999.
People try to take shelter from gunshots fired near Altamira Square in Caracas on August 16, 2004. At least three people were wounded by gunshots after Chavez supporters fired on opposition demonstrators, police said. A vote to recall Chavez as president failed on August 15.
Chavez, left, stands in front of supporters with Fidel Castro of Cuba, center, and Evo Morales of Bolivia, right, during a rally at the Plaza de la Revolucion in Havana, Cuba, on April 29, 2006.
Chavez meets with Pope Benedict XVI at his private library on May 11, 2006, in Vatican City.
Chavez embraces Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, right, in Tehran, Iran, on July 1, 2007. The two presidents have enjoyed a close relationship and Chavez has referred to Ahmadinejad as his "ideological brother."
Chavez speaks during a rally in Caracas on November 18, 2008. Chavez pushed to change term limits in Venezuela through a referendum that passed on February 15, 2009, clearing the way for him to run for a third six-year term.
Chavez, right, gives a copy of the book, "The Open Veins of Latin America" by Eduardo Galeano to President Barack Obama during a multilateral meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on April 18, 2009.
Chavez, right, greets Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to the presidential palace in Caracas on April 2, 2010.
Chavez salutes to the audience after passing a law in Caracas on November 12, 2011. Chavez has undergone several rounds of cancer treatment in Cuba, beginning in 2011.
Chavez participates in a ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on January 27, 2012.
Chavez, left, jokes with American actor Sean Penn, right, during his visit to Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on February 16, 2012. Penn thanked Chavez for the support given by the Venezuelan government to his nongovernmental organization, which benefits victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Chavez acknowledges supporters on the streets of Caracas while on his way to the airport to travel to Cuba for ongoing cancer treatment on February 24, 2012.
Chavez gestures to the crowd during his closing campaign rally in Caracas on October 4, 2012. The leftist leader won a fourth term on October 7, extending his presidency to 2019.
A handout picture released by the Venezuelan presidential press office on Friday, February 15, 2013, shows Chavez surrounded by his daughters and holding the February 14 edition of the official Cuban newspaper Granma at a hospital in Havana, Cuba.
Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attend an open-air mass in Caracas on February 22.
A woman wraps up in Venezuela's flag to stay warm as she and others wait in line before the start of Chavez's funeral on March 8 in the capital.
Chavez's coffin is carried Wednesday, March 6, to the Military Academy for his funeral in Caracas.
Throngs of Chavez supporters accompany the coffin of the deceased Venezuelan president as it arrives at the Military Academy in Caracas on March 6.
Crowds in Quito, Ecuador, gather around a large photograph of Chavez to pay their respects to the deceased president on March 6. Ecuador's left-leaning president, Rafael Correa, was a Chavez ally.
A woman watches as Chavez's casket is driven through the streets of Caracas on March 6.
A man reacts at Plaza Bolivar of Caracas, on March 6.
Members of the military escort Chavez's casket down the streets of Caracas on March 6.
Riot police contain the crowds looking on as Chavez's casket is driven through the streets of Caracas on March 6.
Palestinians hold portraits of Chavez during a rally in front of the Venezuelan Embassy, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on March 6.
Supporters of Chavez light candles while gathering in front of the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday, March 5.
Venezuelans in Caracas react to the news of Chavez's death on March 5.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Diego Molero speaks in Caracas on March 5. He said that the Venezuelan people must fight for Chavez's legacy.
Chavez supporters hold pictures of the late president as they gather on March 5 in front of the Military Hospital in Caracas.
Venezuelans ride motorcycles through Caracas after the announcement of Chavez's death on March 5.
A man mourns the death of Chavez outside the Military Hospital in Caracas on March 5.
Venezuelans shout in the streets of the capital on March 5.
A Venezuelan woman adjusts the television while watching the news of Chavez's death on March 5 inside a Venezuelan restaurant in Panama City, Panama.
Many people in Caracas wept openly as news of Chavez's death spread on March 5.
A man walks past a mural in Caracas portraying the South American liberator Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan flag and Chavez on March 5.
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