Antonio Saca

Infobox_President
name = Antonio Saca

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order = President of El Salvador
vicepresident = Ana Vilma de Escobar
term_start = 1 June 2004
predecessor = Francisco Flores
successor =
birth_date = birth date and age|1965|03|09|df=y
birth_place = Usulután, Usulután, El Salvador
party = ARENA
spouse = Ana Ligia Mixco de Saca 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 electionFact|date=August 2008. Saca is the only leader of a Latin American nation to support Bush's war in Iraq by sending Salvadoran troops [cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat_coalition.htm|title=Iraq Coalition Troops |date=February 2007 |accessdate=2008-10-08 ] [cite web|url=http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/328/74/|title=Two Years of Ka-Saca in El Salvador |date=June 19, 2006|accessdate=2008-10-08] .

References

External links

* [http://www.casapres.gob.sv The Presidential webite] es icon
* [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071129-9.html President Bush Meets with President Saca of El Salvador]