José Napoleón Duarte

José Napoleón Duarte (1987)

José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes (born November 23, 1925 in San Salvador , † February 23, 1990 ibid) was a politician and president in El Salvador .

Study and exile

Duarte was born in 1925. During his studies, he became a member of the protest movement in May 1944 that overthrew the nine-year ruling regime of President General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez . Duarte left El Salvador in 1945 and went into political exile in Guatemala . From there he supported the opposition to the new military rulers. He studied at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana ( USA ). After completing his studies, he returned to El Salvador, which was on the way to democracy .

Political career

In 1960, Duarte and others founded the Partido Demócrata Cristiano (PDC), which, however, did not win a seat in the National Assembly in the elections in the same year. After a boycott of the 1962 presidential election, he became mayor of San Salvador in March 1964 , and the PDC won 14 of the 52 seats in parliament that year. With his politics he also won the mayoral elections in 1966 and 1968, but resigned from this office in 1970.

In the presidential elections on February 20, 1972, Duarte was evidently cheated of his majority vote. On March 2, 1972, the ERP shot and killed two soldiers from the Guardia Nacional in San Salvador. Links to the PDC have been assigned to the ERP. In the climate of mistrust, the influence of ORDEN could not be eliminated. On March 25, 1972, Duarte was arrested and tortured - losing three fingers -, accused of high treason and sentenced to death . In response to international pressure, electoral fraudster Arturo Armando Molina promised him exile and had Duarte deported to Venezuela .

His attempt to return to El Salvador in 1974 failed and he was again deported to Venezuela.

On October 15, 1979, the junta Revolucionaria de Gobierno took power in El Salvador. Duarte Fuentes returned to El Salvador and joined the junta on March 3, 1980. He became foreign minister . On December 22, 1980, he became head of the junta.

Presidency

In the elections for the Constituent Assembly on March 28, 1981, the PDC won 24 seats and ARENA 36 seats. On May 2, 1981, the interim president Álvaro Alfredo Magaña Borja, appointed by the Constituent Assembly, took office. On March 25, 1984, international election observers saw that Duarte had won the presidential election against the ARENA candidate and godfather of the death squads, Roberto D'Aubuisson Arrieta . During the election campaign, the US government used two million US dollars for Duarte. On June 1, 1984 Duarte took office.

His meeting with the FMLN leaders on October 15, 1984 marked the end of the civil war . On September 10, 1985, the FMLN kidnapped his daughter Inés. In return for the release of 22 political prisoners and wounded guerrillas, they and 28 army officers were released by the FMLN on October 23, 1985.

In August 1986, together with other Central American politicians, he initiated an agreement ("Esquilas II") to demobilize the guerrilla movements in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua . He resumed dialogue with the FMLN. His political endeavors were hindered from left and right, and not least by the strictly anti-communist course of the USA. Civil war, economic downturn and corruption had the country under control. In the elections of March 20, 1988, the PDC was clearly subject to the ARENA.

In June 1988 Duarte Fuentes was admitted to a Washington hospital. The doctors diagnosed cancer and only a short life expectancy. He resigned from the presidency because he needed further treatment in the USA. He was succeeded in June 1989 by Alfredo Cristiani Burkard .

José Napoléon Duarte Fuentes died on February 23, 1990 in San Salvador. Duarte was married and had four children.

Web links

Commons : José Napoleón Duarte  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• José Napoleón Duarte in the Notable Names Database (English)

predecessor	Office	successor
Álvaro Alfredo Magaña Borja	President of El Salvador 1984–1989	Alfredo Cristiani Burkard