Antonio Saca

Antonio Saca
President of El Salvador
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2004
Vice President	Ana Vilma de Escobar
Preceded by	Francisco Flores
Personal details
Born	200px (1965-03-09) 9 March 1965 Usulután, Usulután, El Salvador
Died	200px
Resting place	200px
Political party	ARENA
Spouse	Ana Ligia Mixco de Saca
Parent	200px

Elías Antonio Saca González (born in Usulután, 9 March 1965) is a Salvadoran politician and the current President of El Salvador. He was elected President in 2004. He was elected to serve a 5-year term that ends in 2009.

Saca is descended from Palestinian 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.

On 21 March 2004 he 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. The election results were:

• Antonio Saca (ARENA) 57.7%
• Schafik Handal (FMLN) 35.6%
• Héctor Silva (CDU-PDC) 3.9%
• Other 2.8%

With his embracing of the free-market and pro-United States policies like those pursued by Flores, Saca was the clear favorite of George W. Bush's administration in the 2004 presidential election. Saca is the only leader of a Latin American nation to support Bush's war in Iraq by sending Salvadorian troops Template:Cite reference.

External links

• President Bush Meets with President Saca of El Salvador

Biography of Antonio Saca (Spanish) http://www.cip.cu/webcip/eventos/cumbre-ibero/mandatarios/c-0151.html