Fidel Sánchez Hernández Explained

Honorific Prefix:General
Fidel Sánchez Hernández
Office:32nd President of El Salvador
Term Start:1 July 1967
Term End:1 July 1972
Vicepresident:Humberto Guillermo Cuestas
Predecessor:Julio Adalberto Rivera
Successor:Arturo Armando Molina
Office1:Minister of the Interior
Term Start1:1 July 1962
Term End1:1 July 1967
President1:Julio Adalberto Rivera
Successor1:Francisco Armando Arias
Birth Date:7 July 1917
Birth Place:El Divisadero, El Salvador
Death Place:San Salvador, El Salvador
Party:National Conciliation Party
Spouse:Marina Uriarte
Children:4
Parents:Vicente Sánchez Estrada
Teresa Hernández Echeverría
Occupation:Military, politician
Allegiance: El Salvador
Branch:Salvadoran Army
Rank:General
Battles:Football War

Fidel Sánchez Hernández (7 July 1917 – 28 February 2003) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador from 1967 to 1972.[1] During his rule, Sánchez Hernández faced war and economic turmoil.

Military career

Before becoming president, Sánchez Hernández was an army general in El Salvador and had brief stints as a military attaché in Washington D.C. (after his participation in the overthrow of José María Lemus in 1960) and in Paris. President Julio Adalberto Rivera promoted him to Minister of the Interior in 1962, and he served in that office until 1967, when he succeeded Rivera to the position of president.

Presidency

He continued Rivera's progressive programs and created a mostly civilian cabinet. The 1967 election was considered one of the few in the period of military domination to have been fairly conducted; the gains made by the opposition (winning a majority of the popular vote) in the legislative and local elections the following year suggested El Salvador was on the road to democratization, a trend that would not be continued as elections in the 1970s were blatantly rigged.

In July 1969, Sánchez Hernández led the Salvadoran Army in its brief but violent Football War against Honduras. He had much success, occupying a large part of that country. But, under a cease-fire agreement arranged by the Organization of American States, Sánchez Hernández agreed to pull his troops out, much to the opposition of many of his military leaders.

The war with Honduras led to much economic distress in El Salvador. Refugees, mostly Salvadorans that resided in Honduras, poured into the country and Honduras closed off trade routes.

Sánchez Hernández remained president until 1972 and was succeeded by Colonel Arturo Armando Molina.[2]

Death

On the night of 28 February 2003, Sánchez Hernández, aged 85, died of a heart attack while being taken to a military hospital in El Salvador.

Orders and decorations

The following is a list of orders and decorations awarded to Sánchez Hernández:[3]

Dominican Republic

Guatemala

Mexico

Spain

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Gral. Fidel Sánchez Hernández — Asamblea Legislativa . 2017-01-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140826192504/http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/pleno/representacion/por-grupos-parlamentarios/pcn/historia/gral.-fidel-sanchez-hernandez . 2014-08-26 . dead .
  2. Web site: Biografia de Fidel Sánchez Hernández. www.biografiasyvidas.com. es. 2018-07-16.
  3. Web site: Gral. Fidel Sánchez Hernández. 1 February 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131851/http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/pleno/representacion/por-grupos-parlamentarios/pcn/historia/gral.-fidel-sanchez-hernandez. 4 March 2016. es. asamblea.gob.sv. Legislative Assembly of El Salvador.