Mauricio Funes
| Mauricio Funes | |
|---|---|
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Mauricio Funes in Brasilia in May 2008.
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| President of El Salvador | |
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In office June 1, 2009 – June 1, 2014 |
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| Vice President | Salvador Sánchez Cerén (2009-2014) |
| Preceded by | Elías Antonio Saca |
| Succeeded by | Salvador Sánchez Cerén |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 18, 1959 San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Political party | Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (2007-2014) Independent (2014-Present) |
| Spouse(s) | Vanda Pignato (Separated) |
| Alma mater | Central American University |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (born October 18, 1959) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from June 1, 2009 to June 1, 2014. He won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) political party and took office on June 1, 2009.
Funes was born in San Salvador. He received his High School Diploma (Bachillerato) from the Externado San José, and studied at Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas"(UCA) but did not graduate. Both Externado and UCA are Jesuit institutions, something that has deeply influenced president Funes. In this respect, Funes has mentioned his relationship to the murdered scholars of UCA as of particular significance in his professional and personal development. In 1994 he was awarded the Maria Moors Cabot prize from Columbia University for promoting press freedom and inter-American understanding.
Funes' brother was killed during the Salvadoran Civil War. His oldest son, Alejandro Funes Velasco, who was 27 years old, died after being attacked in Paris, where he was studying photography.
Prior to his involvement with politics of El Salvador, Funes was a journalist who hosted a popular interview show on television. He made appearances on Channel 12 and CNN en Español, and also hosted local news programs which were critical of previous governments. He was a reporter during the Salvadoran Civil War and interviewed leftist rebel leaders. It was during this time that he became more sympathetic to leftists in El Salvador, and he considers himself to be center-left.
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