Armando Calderón Sol

First president elected in El Salvador after 12 years of civil war

Armando Calderón Sol, the first president elected in El Salvador after 12 years of civil war, died on Monday in Houston. He was 69.

His death, in a hospital, was confirmed by his sister, Milena Calderón de Escalón, a member of the Salvadoran Legislative Assembly. He learned last year that he had cancer.

Calderón Sol, a wealthy lawyer, was elected in 1994 as a compromise candidate acceptable to both the moderate and hard-right factions of his National Republican Alliance party.

He was limited to one fiveyear term, during which he began the privatisation of government-owned utilities, lowered trade barriers and sought to integrate former guerrillas into civilian society.

Calderón Sol was born on 24 June, 1948, in San Salvador. He graduated with a degree in jurisprudence and social sciences from the Universidad Nacional de El Salvador.

He served in the Legislative Assembly from 1985 to 1988, when he was elected mayor of San Salvador. When elected president,hevowedto“govern for all Salvadorans”.