Personal Info
- Country of residence: El Salvador
Information
Antonio Saca is a Salvadoran politician and was the President of El Salvador. He was elected President in 2004 to serve a five-year term that ended in 2009.
Saca is descended from Palestinian (Catholic Christian) immigrants who arrived in El Salvador in the early 20th century from the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Prior to becoming President he was a broadcast journalist, specializing in sports radio and a prominent businessman. He attended to the University of Central America. He is an outspoken Evangelical Protestant and has expressed his faith through his historic friendliness with Salvadoran and American Protestant churches.
On 21 March 2004 Saca was elected President of El Salvador, and on 1 June 2004 succeeded President Francisco Flores. Both Saca and Flores are members of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance party, generally known by its Spanish-language acronym ARENA.
During the election campaign, some commentators criticized Saca's lack of political experience. In the election, Saca defeated leftist Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) candidate, Schafik Handal, also of Palestinian descent.
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Achievements and Awards
President Saca initiated the "Solidarian Network plan" on October 2005 with international aid from European countries such as Spain. This plan was aimed at communities considered below the poverty line. A map of poor areas was developed, and financial aid in the amount of $15 to $20 per month per family was to be distributed in the designation areas. The plan was initiated in the Balsam Range municipalities (Cordillera del Balsamo), such as Jicalapa, in La Libertad department.
With his embracing of the free-market and pro-United States policies like those pursued by Flores, Saca was the clear favorite of the United States government in the 2004 presidential election. Saca was one of the leaders in Latin America to send troops to Iraq, though he was the only one to maintain them on extended deployment. El Salvador's military commitment in Iraq ended in February 2009.
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