Tomás Regalado Romero Explained

Tomás Regalado Romero
Office:20th President of El Salvador
Term Start:14 November 1898
Term End:1 March 1903
Provisional: 14 November 1898 – 1 March 1899
Vicepresident:Francisco Antonio Reyes
Predecessor:Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez
Successor:Pedro José Escalón
Office1:Minister of National Defense
Term Start1:1 March 1903
Term End1:11 July 1906
Predecessor1:Fernando Figueroa
Successor1:Fernando Figueroa
Birth Date:7 November 1860
Birth Place:Santa Ana, El Salvador
Death Place:Jutiapa, Guatemala
Party:Liberal
Allegiance: El Salvador
Branch:Salvadoran Army
Serviceyears:? – 1906
Rank:General
Battles:
Signature:TomásRegaladoFirma.jpeg

Tomás Herculano de Jesús Regalado Romero (7 November 1861 – 11 July 1906) was the president of El Salvador from 14 November 1898 until 1 March 1903. He was a military ruler and gained power by deposing Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez, a man he had previously helped achieve control of the country by taking part in a conspiracy to oust Carlos Ezeta four years earlier. Elected to a four-year term in 1899, he promoted the construction of railways, declared an amnesty for political exiles, and began the construction of the Santa Ana Theater.

Biography

Tomás Herculano de Jesús Regalado Romero was born on 7 November 1861 in Santa Ana, El Salvador. His parents were Tomás Regalado and Petrona Romero de Regalado. In 1894, he married Concepción González Fortis, the daughter of ex-Salvadoran President Santiago González Portillo. They had two children: Tomás Regalado González and Marísa Regalado González.[1]

Upon leaving office, he remained active in the Army of El Salvador and was appointed Minister of War by his handpicked successor Pedro José Escalón. During a war against Guatemala in 1906 he led a Salvadoran invasion force and went into battle. Seriously wounded, he soon died on 11 July. His coup d'état led to the dissolution of the Greater Republic of Central America after his government withdrew from it.[2]

Regalado was the last in a series of presidents who had come to power by force during the 19th Century. His peaceful transfer of power to Pedro José Escalón in 1903 allowed for a degree of political stability that persisted until the 1931 Salvadoran coup d'état.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Presidentes de El Salvador – General Tomas Regalado. https://web.archive.org/web/20090302073927/http://www.casapres.gob.sv/presidentes/pres/tregalado1898.htm. 2009-03-02. 15 October 2022. es. Government of El Salvador. casapres.gob.sv. Presidents of El Salvador – General Tomas Regalado.
  2. Walker, Thomas W. Nicaragua, the Land of Sandino. Boulder: Westview Press, 1981., p. 17.