El Salvador
El Salvador, 1841 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
El Salvador declared its independence from the Federal Republic of Central America on 30 January 1841. On 16 January 1992, the government of El Salvador and the FMLN signed peace agreements brokered by the United Nations, ending the 12-year civil war. On 1 June 2019, Nayib Bukele became the new president of El Salvador. On 4 February 2024, Bukele won re-election with 84% of the vote in the presidential election, and on 1 June 2024 he was sworn in for his second five-year term.
Seat of power: San Salvador
Rulers
Francisco Dueñas Díaz
President of El Salvador, 1863–1871
He served as President of El Salvador on six different occasions between 1851 and 1871. In 1863 he helped overthrow Barrios and became provisional president. He was overthrown in 1871 by Marshal Santiago González and exiled to the United States.
Portrait of Francisco Dueñas Díaz: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Santiago González
President of El Salvador, 1871–1876
He served as the 12th President of El Salvador from 15 April 1871 to 1 February 1876. In 1871 he led a revolution against the conservative government of Dueñas, which was overthrown.
Portrait of Santiago González: Brigadier044, Public domain, file
Rafael Zaldívar
President of El Salvador, 1876–1885
He served as the 14th President of El Salvador from 1876 to 1884 and from 1884 to 1885. He was a politician, diplomat, and physician.
Portrait of Rafael Zaldívar: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Francisco Menéndez Valdivieso
President of El Salvador, 1885–1890
He served as the 15th President of El Salvador from 1885 to his overthrow and death in 1890. He launched a revolution against President Rafael Zaldívar and became provisional president on 22 June 1885. He was overthrown and killed in a coup led by General Carlos Ezeta on 22 June 1890.
Portrait of Francisco Menéndez Valdivieso: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Tomás Regalado
President of El Salvador, 1898–1903
He served as the 18th president of El Salvador from 14 November 1898 to 1 March 1903. He promoted the construction of railways, declared an amnesty for political exiles, and began the construction of the Santa Ana Theater.
Portrait of Tomás Regalado: ElCriticoDeLaNostalgia, Public domain, file
Carlos Meléndez Ramírez
President of El Salvador, 1913–1918
He served as the 22nd president of El Salvador from 1913 to 1914 and again from 1915 to 1918. During World War I he kept El Salvador neutral. He promoted the "Meléndez Doctrine" that recognized the Gulf of Fonseca as a condominium between El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
Portrait of Carlos Meléndez Ramírez: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain, file
Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
President of El Salvador, 1931–1944
He served as the 27th president of El Salvador from 4 December 1931 to 28 August 1934 in a provisional capacity and again in an official capacity from 1 March 1935 until his resignation on 9 May 1944. In December 1931, a coup d'état was organized by junior officers and led by Martínez. Beginning in January 1932, there was brutal suppression of a rural revolt known as La Matanza.
Portrait of Maximiliano Hernández Martínez: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Fidel Sánchez Hernández
President of El Salvador, 1967–1972
He served as President of El Salvador from 1967 to 1972 as a member of the National Conciliation Party. He led El Salvador during the four-day Football War against Honduras in 1969 that resulted in an Organization of American States-mediated ceasefire. During his presidency, he implemented education and land reforms.
Arturo Armando Molina
President of El Salvador, 1972–1977
He served as President of El Salvador from 1972 to 1977. He enacted a series of land reform measures, calling for large landholdings to be redistributed among the peasant population.
José Napoleón Duarte
President of El Salvador, 1984–1989
He served as the 36th President of El Salvador from 1984 to 1989 during the Salvadoran Civil War. He was mayor of San Salvador before running for president in 1972. He was elected president in 1984, defeating ARENA party leader Roberto D'Aubuisson.
Portrait of José Napoleón Duarte: Croes, Rob C. for Anefo, CC0, file
Alfredo Cristiani
President of El Salvador, 1989–1994
He was the 37th President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994. On 16 January 1992 he represented the government of El Salvador in signing peace agreements, brokered by the United Nations, that ended the 12-year civil war.
Portrait of Alfredo Cristiani: The original uploader was Chelsea Tory at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, file
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Armando Calderón Sol
President of El Salvador, 1994–1999
He served as the 38th President of El Salvador from 1994 to 1999. He was the first president of El Salvador elected after the end of the Salvadoran Civil War. During his presidency, he focused on privatizing government owned industry, criminal justice reform, and leading El Salvador in its post-civil war transition period.
Portrait of Armando Calderón Sol: Embassy of the United States in El Salvador, Public domain, file
Antonio Saca
President of El Salvador, 2004–2009
He was the 40th President of El Salvador from 2004 to 2009 as a member of the Nationalist Republican Alliance. From 1989 until 2004, Salvadorans favoured the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), voting in ARENA presidents in every election (Alfredo Cristiani, Armando Calderón Sol, Francisco Flores Pérez, Antonio Saca) until 2009.
Portrait of Antonio Saca: Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison, U.S. Air Force, Public domain, file
Mauricio Funes
President of El Salvador, 2009–2014
He served as the 41st president of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014. On 15 March 2009, Mauricio Funes, a television figure, became the first president from the FMLN. During his presidency, Funes implemented various social reforms and anti-poverty programs.
Portrait of Mauricio Funes: Wilson Dias/Abr, CC BY 3.0 br, file
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Nayib Bukele
President of El Salvador, 2019 to today
He has served as the 43rd president of El Salvador since 2019. After the Supreme Electoral Court refused to register his party, Nuevas Ideas, he ran for president with the Grand Alliance for National Unity and won with 53 percent of the vote. He was elected Mayor of San Salvador in 2015 and served until 2018.
Portrait of Nayib Bukele: AndreX, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
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Culture
- By the 19th century, indigo emerged as the primary export due to global demands for natural dyes, before being superseded by coffee in the early 20th century, which at its peak generated roughly 90% of national export revenues.
- In 2001, El Salvador replaced its national currency, the colón (in circulation since 1892), with the United States dollar.
- On 22 January 1932, thousands of poorly armed peasants in the western part of El Salvador revolted against the government and Martínez. The government suppressed the rebellion brutally, killing between 10,000 and 40,000 people, mostly Pipil peasants.
- Óscar Romero, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador, denounced injustices and massacres committed against civilians by government forces. He was assassinated by a death squad while saying Mass on 24 March 1980.
Picture
This city is the capital and largest city of El Salvador and serves as the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center.
Image: Frankjh, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.