Fernando Figueroa

Divisional General
Fernando Figueroa
Divisional General Fernando Figueroa
	Official portrait, c. 1907–1910
48th President of El Salvador
	In office; 1 March 1907 – 1 March 1911
Vice President	Manuel Enrique Araujo
Preceded by	Pedro José Escalón
Succeeded by	Manuel Enrique Araujo
	In office; 14 May 1885 – 18 June 1885; Provisional President
Preceded by	Rafael Zaldívar
Succeeded by	José Rosales (acting)
19th Minister of War and the Navy of El Salvador
	In office; 1 March 1903 – 10 September 1907
President	Pedro José Escalón (until 1907); Himself (1907)
Preceded by	Tomás Regalado
Succeeded by	José María Peralta Lagos
Personal details
Born	4 March 1849; Ilobasco, El Salvador
Died	16 June 1919 (aged 70); San Salvador, El Salvador
Party	Liberal
Spouse	Luz Rodríguez (m. 1878)
Children	6
Relatives	Fabio Castillo Figueroa (grandson)
Occupation	Politician, military officer
Military service
Allegiance	El Salvador
Branch/service	Salvadoran Army
Years of service	1863–1885, 1891–1911
Rank	Divisional general
Battles/wars	War of 1863 (WIA); Honduran–Salvadoran War; First Honduran intervention Battle of Sábana Grande; Battle of Santa Bárbara; ; Second Honduran intervention Battle of Amapala; ; Guatemalan–Salvadoran War Battle of Pasaquina (WIA); ; Menéndez's revolution; Second Totoposte War; Third Totoposte War; War of 1907;

Fernando Figueroa (4 March 1849 – 16 June 1919) was a Salvadoran politician and military officer who served as President of El Salvador in 1885 and from 1907 to 1911. He also served as Minister of War and the Navy and as Governor of the San Vicente Department.

Early life and career

Fernando Figueroa was born in Ilobasco, El Salvador.^[1] As a teenager, he enlisted in the Salvadoran Army and fought in the War of 1863 against Guatemala under the command of President Gerardo Barrios. During the war, Figueroa was promoted to lieutenant for distinguished service while severely wounded. After the war and Gerardo Barrios' overthrow, President Francisco Dueñas promoted Figueroa to captain. Figueroa commanded government soldiers during the 1871 Honduran–Salvadoran War that ended in Dueñas' overthrow by Marshal Santiago González.^[2]

Figueroa was briefly dismissed from the army but returned in 1872 when El Salvador went to war with Honduras. He participated in the invasion of Honduras and commanded Salvadoran forces at the battles of Sábana Grande and Santa Bárbara. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel for his service at the Battle of Sábana Grande. Figueroa was also a part of another war with Honduras in 1873, during which, he commanded troops during the Battle of Amapala.^[3]

In 1873, President González appointed Figueroa as Governor of the San Vicente Department. By 1876, he was promoted to the rank of general. Figueroa was again wounded in action at the Battle of Pasaquina during the Guatemalan–Salvadoran War of 1876^[3] that resulted in Rafael Zaldívar being appointed President of El Salvador by Guatemalan president Justo Rufino Barrios.^[4]^[5]

First presidency

In May 1885, Divisional General Francisco Menéndez launched a revolution against Zaldívar shortly after Justo Rufino Barrios was killed in action after he invaded El Salvador. Menéndez's revolution was supported by the new Guatemalan government.^[4] Zaldívar resigned on 14 May and fled El Salvador, upon which Figueroa assumed the presidency in a provisional capacity as he was the second presidential designate (third in the presidential line of succession).^[6] He also assumed supreme command of all Salvadoran government forces.^[3]

Zaldívar's cabinet resigned when Figueroa became provisional president. Due to this, Figueroa made the following cabinet appointments: Rafael Ayala as General Minister; Isidro Paredes as Minister of the Interior and Public Instruction; and Domingo López as Minister of Finance and the Navy. As president, Figueroa created the Society for the Protection of the Wounded, implemented conscription for all Salvadorans, and suspended the construction of schools and courts.^[1] He was promoted to divisional general by the legislature on 16 May.^[7]

Figueroa attempted to suppress Menéndez's revolution, but as violence continued into June, Figueroa resigned on 18 June and handed the presidency to Senator José Rosales, the third presidential designate. Figueroa then fled El Salvador fearing for his life.^[1] Menéndez eventually became President of El Salvador on 22 June^[8] and he ruled until 22 June 1890 when he was killed in a coup led by General Carlos Ezeta.^[9]

Between presidencies

Figueroa returned to El Salvador after Ezeta's presidential inauguration in 1891.^[10]^[11] Ezeta appointed Figueroa back to his former position as Governor of San Vicente.^[10] In March 1900, President Tomás Regalado appointed Figueroa as Minister of War and the Navy.^[12]

Second presidency

Figueroa was a presidential candidate in the 1907 presidential election. The election was fixed in his favor^[13] as President Pedro José Escalón handpicked Figueroa as his successor.^[14] Figueroa won 152,053 votes—99.76 percent.^[15] Figueroa assumed office on 1 March 1907.^[16] Manuel Enrique Araujo was his vice president.^[1] Figueroa appointed the following cabinet members: Tomás García Palomo as Minister of Governance, Promotion, and Public Instruction; Ramón García González as Minister of External Relations, Justice, and Charity; and Federico Mejía as Minister of Finance and Public Credit. He remained as Minister of War and the Navy.^[17]

Several politicians and military officers led by General Luis Alonso Barahona opposed Escalón choosing Figueroa as his successor. Barahona ran against Figueroa in the 1907 presidential election but he was arrested and his supporters were repressed.^[18] Barahona finished as the election's runner-up and won only 222 votes—0.15 percent.^[15] General Manuel Rivas launched a rebellion against Figueroa but it was suppressed.^[18] In 1907, Honduras, Nicaragua, Salvadoran rebels, and American filibusters invaded El Salvador as Nicaraguan president José Santos Zelaya wanted Prudencio Alfaro to win the 1907 presidential election,^[19] in which Alfaro only won 1 vote.^[15] The invasion violated the 1907 Central American Treaty of Peace and Amity earlier that year.^[20] Fighting only lasted one day^[21] and the United States mediated a peace treaty by December.^[22]

Figueroa's term expired on 1 March 1911 and he was succeeded by Araujo^[17] who won the 1911 presidential election.^[23]

Personal life

Figueroa married Luz Rodríguez in 1878. The couple had six children: three sons and three daughters through whom he had nine grandchildren, including 20th century politician Fabio Castillo Figueroa.^[1] One of Figueroa's sons married a daughter of General Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez who was president from 1894 to 1898.^[24] Figueroa was a pragmatic liberal.^[25]

Death

Figueroa died on in San Salvador, El Salvador on 16 June 1919 at 6:15 p.m.^[17]

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 165.
^ Martin 1911, p. 38.
^ ^a ^b ^c Martin 1911, p. 39.
^ ^a ^b Cañas Dinarte & Scarlett Cortez 2006, p. 79.
^ Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 140.
^ Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 142.
^ Diario Oficial 1885, p. 609.
^ Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 147.
^ Cañas Dinarte & Scarlett Cortez 2006, p. 80.
^ ^a ^b Martin 1911, pp. 39–40.
^ Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 151.
^ Armed Forces of El Salvador.
^ Bernal Ramírez & Quijano de Batres 2009, p. 34.
^ Ching 1997, p. 220.
^ ^a ^b ^c Diario Oficial 1907, p. 354.
^ Martin 1911, p. 40.
^ ^a ^b ^c Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 166.
^ ^a ^b Ching 1997, p. 222.
^ Martin 1911, p. 61.
^ Martin 1911, p. 62.
^ Martin 1911, pp. 63–64.
^ Martin 1911, p. 75.
^ Diario Oficial 1911, p. 105.
^ Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 155.
^ White 1973, pp. 87–88.

Bibliography

Bernal Ramírez, Luis Guillermo & Quijano de Batres, Ana Elia, eds. (2009). Historia 2 El Salvador [History 2 El Salvador] (PDF). Historia El Salvador (in Spanish). El Salvador: Ministry of Education. ISBN 9789992363683. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
Cañas Dinarte, Carlos & Scarlett Cortez, Violeta (2006). Aguilar Avilés, Gilberto & De Aguilar, Lilian (eds.). Historia del Órgano Legislativo de la República de El Salvador: 1824–2006 [History of the Legislative Organ of the Republic of El Salvador: 1826–2006] (PDF) (in Spanish) (II ed.). San Salvador, El Salvador: Albacrome. OCLC 319689765. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 February 2020.
Ching, Erik K. (1997). From Clientelism to Militarism: The State, Politics and Authoritarianism in El Salvador, 1840–1940 (PhD thesis). Santa Barbara, California: University of California, Santa Barbara. OCLC 39326756. ProQuest 304330235. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
"Cuadro Demonstrativo de los Votos Emitidos para Presidente y Vice Presidente de la República en el Período de 1907 a 1911" [Demonstrative Table of the Votes Cast for President and Vice President of the Republic for the Period of 1907 to 1911] (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish). Vol. 62, no. 48. 26 February 1907. p. 354. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
"Elecciones de Autoridades Supremas" [Elections of the Supreme Authorities] (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish). Vol. 70, no. 10. 12 January 1911. pp. 105–106. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
"Ex-Ministros de Defense" [Former Ministers of Defense]. Armed Forces of El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
Leistenschneider, María & Leistenschneider, Freddy (1980). Gobernantes de El Salvador: Biografías [Governors of El Salvador: Biographies] (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. OCLC 7876291. Retrieved 9 January 2026.
Martin, Percy Falcke (1911). Salvador of the Twentieth Century. New York City and London: Longmans, Green & co. LCCN nuc87633949. OCLC 1157195793. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
"May 1885 Publications of Diario Oficial" (PDF). Diario Oficial (in Spanish). Vol. 18, no. 102–127. San Salvador, El Salvador. May 1885. pp. 533–636. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
White, Alastair (1973). El Salvador. Nations of the Modern World. London and Tonbridge: Ernest Benn Limited. ISBN 0510395236. LCCN 73175341. OCLC 1391406624. Retrieved 9 January 2026.

External links

"Presidentes de El Salvador – General Fernando Figueroa" [Presidents of El Salvador – General Fernando Figueroa]. Government of El Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 March 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2021.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980165-1] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 165.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191138-2] Martin 1911, p. 38.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191139-3] Martin 1911, p. 39.

[FOOTNOTECañas_DinarteScarlett_Cortez200679-4] Cañas Dinarte & Scarlett Cortez 2006, p. 79.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980140-5] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 140.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980142-6] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 142.

[FOOTNOTEDiario_Oficial1885609-7] Diario Oficial 1885, p. 609.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980147-8] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 147.

[FOOTNOTECañas_DinarteScarlett_Cortez200680-9] Cañas Dinarte & Scarlett Cortez 2006, p. 80.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191139–40-10] Martin 1911, pp. 39–40.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980151-11] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 151.

[FOOTNOTEArmed_Forces_of_El_Salvador-12] Armed Forces of El Salvador.

[FOOTNOTEBernal_RamírezQuijano_de_Batres200934-13] Bernal Ramírez & Quijano de Batres 2009, p. 34.

[FOOTNOTEChing1997220-14] Ching 1997, p. 220.

[FOOTNOTEDiario_Oficial1907354-15] Diario Oficial 1907, p. 354.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191140-16] Martin 1911, p. 40.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980166-17] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 166.

[FOOTNOTEChing1997222-18] Ching 1997, p. 222.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191161-19] Martin 1911, p. 61.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191162-20] Martin 1911, p. 62.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191163–64-21] Martin 1911, pp. 63–64.

[FOOTNOTEMartin191175-22] Martin 1911, p. 75.

[FOOTNOTEDiario_Oficial1911105-23] Diario Oficial 1911, p. 105.

[FOOTNOTELeistenschneiderLeistenschneider1980155-24] Leistenschneider & Leistenschneider 1980, p. 155.

[FOOTNOTEWhite197387–88-25] White 1973, pp. 87–88.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

Heads of state of El Salvador
List of heads of state of El Salvador
Post-independence (1821–1823)	Barriere Delgado Filísola* Codallos* Consultive Junta^‡ Prado^†
Federal Republic of Central America (1823–1841)	J. Rodríguez Prado J. V. Villacorta Prado^† Cornejo J. D. Villacorta^† Cornejo Morazán^†* J. San Martín* Prado J. San Martín* C. Salazar^†* G. Salazar^† Escolán^† Silva^† Escolán^† Espinoza* F. Gómez^†* Vigil T. Menéndez^† Vigil T. Menéndez^† Cañas^†* Morazán* Silva^† Municipal Council of San Salvador Cañas^† Ramírez^† Lindo^†
Republic of El Salvador (1841–1931)	Lindo^† Arce^† Lindo Marín^†* J. J. Guzmán* D. Villacorta^† Marín^†* J. J. Guzmán* Arce^† J. J. Guzmán* Palacios^† Malespín* J. E. Guzmán^†* Malespín* J. E. Guzmán^†* Palacios^† J. E. Guzmán^†* Palacios^† Aguilar Palacios^† Aguilar Medina^† Quirós^† Vasconcelos R. Rodríguez^† Quirós^† Vasconcelos Dueñas^† Quirós^† Dueñas^† J. M. San Martín^†* Dueñas V. Gómez^† J. M. San Martín* J. Hernández^†* J. M. San Martín* Dueñas^† Campo Dueñas^† Campo Zepeda^† Santín* Barrios^†* Santín* J. E. Guzmán^†* Peralta^† Barrios* Peralta^† Barrios* Dueñas González* Méndez^† González* del Valle Zaldívar Guirola^† Zaldívar Figueroa^†* Rosales^† F. Menéndez* C. Ezeta* A. Ezeta^†* Gutiérrez* Regalado* Escalón* Figueroa* M. Araujo C. Meléndez^† Quiñónez^† C. Meléndez Quiñónez^† J. Meléndez Quiñónez P. Romero A. Araujo
Military dictatorship (1931–1979)	Civic Directory^‡ Hernández Martínez^†* A. Menéndez^†* Hernández Martínez* A. Menéndez^†* Aguirre^†* Castaneda* Revolutionary Council of Government^‡ Osorio* Lemus* Junta of Government^‡ Civic-Military Directory^‡ Cordón^† Rivera* F. Sánchez* A. Molina* C. Romero*
Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992)	Revolutionary Government Junta^‡ Magaña Duarte Cristiani
Post-civil war (since 1992)	Cristiani Calderón Flores Saca Funes S. Sánchez Bukele C. Rodríguez^†
^† – Acting or provisional president ^‡ – Military junta * – Military president