Antonio Saca facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Antonio Saca
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Saca in 2004
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| 78th President of El Salvador | |
| In office 1 June 2004 – 1 June 2009 |
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| Vice President | Ana Vilma de Escobar |
| Preceded by | Francisco Flores |
| Succeeded by | Mauricio Funes |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Elías Antonio Saca González
9 March 1965 Santa Elena, Usulután, El Salvador |
| Political party | Nationalist Republican Alliance (until 2009) Unity Movement (2013–2014) |
| Spouse |
Ana Ligia Mixco
(m. 1989) |
| Alma mater | Central American University |
Elías Antonio "Tony" Saca González (born 9 March 1965) is a Salvadoran politician. He served as the President of El Salvador from 2004 to 2009. He is currently in prison because of charges related to misusing public money.
Contents
Early Life and Career
Elías Antonio Saca was born in Santa Elena, Usulutan, El Salvador. His family came from Palestine in the early 1900s. His father's family were Catholic immigrants from Bethlehem.
Before becoming president, Saca worked as a journalist, focusing on sports radio. He was also a successful businessman. He studied at the University of Central America. Saca is an Evangelical Protestant and has shown strong connections with Protestant churches in El Salvador and the United States.
Saca married Ana Ligia Mixco Sol de Saca in 1989. They have three children: Gerardo Antonio, Jose Alejandro, and Christian Eduardo.
Becoming President (2004-2009)
On 21 March 2004, Tony Saca was elected President of El Salvador. He took office on 1 June 2004, following President Francisco Flores. Both Saca and Flores were members of the Nationalist Republican Alliance party, known as ARENA. This party is generally seen as conservative.
During the election, some people worried that Saca did not have enough political experience. However, he won the election against Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) candidate, Schafik Hándal. The election results were:
- Antonio Saca (ARENA) 57.7%
- Schafik Handal (FMLN) 35.6%
- Héctor Silva (CDU-PDC) 3.9%
- Others 2.8%
In 2009, the ARENA party removed Saca from their group. This happened because they suspected he helped some ARENA lawmakers join a new party.
Key Policies as President
President Saca started a program called the "Solidarian Network plan" in 2005. This plan aimed to help communities living in poverty. It provided financial aid to families in very poor areas.
Saca supported free-market policies and had strong ties with the United States. He was one of the few leaders in Latin America to send troops to Iraq. El Salvador's troops stayed in Iraq until early 2009.
Later Political Life
Saca ran for president again in the 2014 elections. He was part of a group of smaller parties called UNIDAD. Even though he leaned right politically, Saca often worked with the FMLN party in the National Assembly. This gave him some political power. However, he did not win the 2014 election.
Legal Issues and Conviction
In October 2016, Tony Saca was arrested. He was accused of misusing public money and other related offenses. Several other former officials from his government were also arrested.
On 12 September 2018, Saca was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He admitted to misusing and hiding public funds. In September 2019, he received two more years in prison for trying to bribe a court employee. The Salvadoran Supreme Court confirmed his 10-year prison sentence in December 2019. They also ordered him to return a large amount of the money he had misused.
See also
In Spanish: Elías Antonio Saca para niños
- List of heads of state and government who were later imprisoned
