Ana Vilma de Escobar

Ana Vilma de Escobar has been Vice-President of El Salvador since 1 June 2004. She is a member of the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party. She is El Salvador's first woman to be selected Vice President, complementing the presidential formula of Elías Antonio Saca for the term 2004-2009. Their victory was the outcome of the most attended election in Salvadoran history, giving their party, ARENA, 58.5% of the votes, 20 points above its closest contender. She was pursuing the nomination for president of El Salvador but was defeated by National Police Chief Rodrigo Avila.

Education & Experience

She earned a degree in Economics from the Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" additionally she has pedagogical experience in the areas of mathematics and languages. She is fluent in both English and French. De Escobar worked for ten years at the United States Agency for International Development in its Private Sector Office managing projects to develop the promotion of non traditional exports and to foment foreign investment through the private and public sector.

Her participation in Salvadoran politics includes serving as Executive Director of the political party ARENA and Director of the Women’s Sector of the Party. She was a candidate for congress in the 2003 elections.

In the current administration, de Escobar is president of the Export and Investment Promotion Agency consisting of two agencies: the National Foreign Direct Investment Promotion Agency (PROESA) and the National Agency for the Promotion of Exports (EXPORTA).

De Escobar is also president of the National Commission for Sustainable Development (CNDS). The CNDS works with the United Nations Development Programme, international organizations, and government institutions responsible of carrying out national social programs.

Together with the Vice Presidents of Guatemala and Honduras, de Escobar is a member of the Plan Trifinio Trinational Commission, a three-nation entity responsible for protecting more than 7.000 square kilometers of rich biodiversity and environmental resources, including river basins that are vital for all three countries.

Links

* [http://www.casapres.gob.sv/vicepresidenta/index.htm Official Web Site]
* [http://www.proesa.com.sv Investment Promotion Agency of El Salvador PROESA]
* [http://www.exporta.gob.sv EXPORTA El Salvador]
* [http://www.anavilma.org Presidential Pre candidate]