Pedro José Arce

Pedro José Arce
Pedro José Arce
Acting President of El Salvador
	In office; 26 January 1843 – 8 March 1843
Preceded by	Juan José Guzmán
Succeeded by	Juan José Guzmán
	In office; 20 June 1841 – 28 June 1841
Preceded by	Juan Lindo
Succeeded by	Juan Lindo
Vice President of El Salvador
	In office; 12 April 1842 – 31 January 1844
President	Juan José Guzmán; Dionisio Villacorta; José Escolástico Marín; Juan José Guzmán; Himself; Juan José Guzmán
Preceded by	Himself
Succeeded by	Luis Ayala
	In office; 7 January 1841 – 1 February 1842
President	Juan Lindo; Himself; Juan Lindo
Preceded by	José María Silva
Succeeded by	Himself
Personal details
Born	28 August 1801; San Salvador
Died	3 April 1871 (aged 69)
Party	Independent

Pedro José Arce y Fagoaga (28 August 1801 – 3 April 1871) was a Salvadoran politician. He was the Vice President of El Salvador from 1842 to 1844 and also twice served as Acting President of El Salvador.

Biography

Arce was born on 28 August 1801 in San Salvador, being baptized that day while receiving the baptismal name Pedro José Agustín. His father, Bernardo de Arce y León, was a Salvadoran patriot, while his brother was statesman Manuel José Arce.^[1] He was also the nephew of independence activist José Matías Delgado.^[2] He was educated in Guatemala and then worked for his parents' agricultural property when he came back to El Salvador. Freddy and María Leistenschneider, in the book Governors of El Salvador: Biographies, noted that Arce, "professed republican ideals, and with great enthusiasm, together with his family, he worked for the Independence of Central America, enduring all kinds of persecution".^[1]

Arce served in the Army with the rank of captain. He became Governor of Sonsonate in 1833 and held the title at various points in the subsequent years. Arce briefly was handed the role of Acting President of El Salvador by Juan Lindo on 20 June 1841, then eight days later returned the post to Lindo.^[1] He was elected Vice President of El Salvador in 1842 and remained in the position until 1844.^[3] On 26 January 1843, while he was serving as Vice President, the President, Juan José Guzmán, became seriously ill. He assigned Arce to serve as Acting President again in his absence. Arce thus served in the role for a second time, from 26 January 1843 until 8 March 1843, when José Guzmán recovered.^[1]

Arce remained active in politics in later years, attending the Legislative Congress in 1855 as a representative of the District of Isaico. He was appointed Revenue Administrator of Sonsonate and Santa Ana in 1860. According to Freddy and María Leistenschneider, "Don Pedro Arce y Fagoaga, burdened by years and weary, and after having served El Salvador, died on April 3, 1871".^[1] He was age 69 at the time of his death.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Leistenschneider, María; Leistenschneider, Freddy (1980). Gobernantes de El Salvador: Biografías [Governors of El Salvador: Biographies] (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. p. 71. OCLC 7876291. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
^ Stone, Samuel Z. (1993). El legado de los conquistadores: las clases dirigentes en la América Central desde la Conquista hasta los Sandinistas [The Legacy of the Conquerors: The Ruling Classes in Central America from the Conquest to the Sandinistas]. Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. p. 23. ISBN 9789977646947.
^ El Salvador de hoy [El Salvador Today] (in Spanish). Talleres Martinez. 1952. pp. 115–116.

[auto-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Leistenschneider, María; Leistenschneider, Freddy (1980). Gobernantes de El Salvador: Biografías [Governors of El Salvador: Biographies] (in Spanish). Ministry of the Interior. p. 71. OCLC 7876291. Retrieved 1 August 2025.

[2] Stone, Samuel Z. (1993). El legado de los conquistadores: las clases dirigentes en la América Central desde la Conquista hasta los Sandinistas [The Legacy of the Conquerors: The Ruling Classes in Central America from the Conquest to the Sandinistas]. Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia. p. 23. ISBN 9789977646947.

[3] El Salvador de hoy [El Salvador Today] (in Spanish). Talleres Martinez. 1952. pp. 115–116.

[1]

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[3]

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