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Mauricio Funes
	Mauricio Funes
	;
President of El Salvador
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 June 2009
Vice President	Salvador Sánchez Cerén
Preceded by	Antonio Saca
Born	18 October 1959 (age 50); San Salvador, El Salvador
Political party	Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
Spouse(s)	Vanda Pignato
Occupation	Journalist
Religion	Roman Catholic

Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (born 18 October 1959 in San Salvador) is the President of El Salvador. 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 1 June 2009.

[edit] Journalism

Prior to his involvement with politics, Funes was a journalist who hosted a popular interview show on television.^[1] He made appearances on Channel 12 and CNN en Español,^[2] 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 politically oriented and left-wing.^[3]

[edit] Election 2009

Funes was nominated to be the FMLN candidate on 28 September 2007 and competed against the Nationalist Republican Alliance's candidate Rodrigo Ávila, a former deputy director of the National Police. Funes won the 2009 presidential election, achieving an absolute majority with 51.32% of the popular vote. He is the first FMLN party leader not to have fought in the civil war. His presidential campaign was highlighted by statements endorsing moderate political policies.^[4] He has promised to better programs such as health care in rural areas and crime prevention.^[5] Political opponents stated that Funes' election would herald an era of Venezuelan influence but he insisted that "integration with Central America and strengthening relations with the United States will be the priority of our foreign policy".^[1] Funes has also promised to keep the U.S. dollar as El Salvador's official currency (dollarization took place in 2001 under President Francisco Flores Pérez).^[5]

[edit] Education and personal life

Funes is married to Dr. Vanda Pignato, who was involved in the Workers' Party in Brazil.^[6] They have one son, Gabriel. Funes received his High School Diploma (Bachillerato) from the Externado San José and later went on to study literature at Universidad Centroamericana "José Simeón Cañas" (UCA) in San Salvador.^[7] In 1994 he was awarded the Maria Moors Cabot prize from Columbia University for promoting press freedom and inter-American understanding.^[8]

Funes' brother was killed during the civil war.^[3] His oldest son, Alejandro Funes Velasco, who was 27 years old, died after being attacked in Paris, France, where he was studying photography.^[9]

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Journalist Mauricio Funes wins El Salvador presidency. The Guardian 2009-03-16. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.
^ Booth, William (March 9, 2009). "In El Salvador Vote, Big Opportunity for Leftists". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/08/AR2009030801775.html. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
^ ^a ^b Factbox: Salvadoran President-elect Mauricio Funes. Reuters 2009-03-16. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.
^ Left-winger wins El Salvador poll. BBC News 2009-03-16. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.
^ ^a ^b "Left Turn", The Economist: 40, March 21-27
^ Ellingwood, Ken (June 26, 2008). "In El Salvador, journalist may lead leftists to center stage". Los Angeles Times: p. 2. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/26/world/fg-elsalvador26. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
^ (Spanish) "Mauricio Funes (Biography)". Mauricio Funes: Un cambio seguro. http://www.mauriciofunespresidente.com/biografia_mauricio_funes.php?position=militancia. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
^ "4 awards for Latin American Coverage". http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/27/world/4-awards-for-latin-american-coverage.html.
^ (Spanish) "Fallece en París Alejandro Funes, hijo del periodista Mauricio Funes". Chichicaste. October 11, 2007. http://chichicaste.blogcindario.com/2007/10/00682-comunicado-oficial-sobre-la-muerte-de-alejandro-funes-hijo-de-mauricio-funes.html. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

[edit] External links

Wikinews has related news: El Salvador elects leftist president Funes

(Spanish) Official Campaign Website
First President from the Left Elected in San Salvador by Katie Kohlstedt, June 6 2009
El Salvador Rising by Tom Hayden, The Nation, June 15 2009
El Salvador’s 'Date with History' by Oscar Faria, Workers World, July 2 2009

Political offices
Preceded by Antonio Saca	President of El Salvador 2009 – present	Succeeded by Incumbent

[G1-0] Journalist Mauricio Funes wins El Salvador presidency. The Guardian 2009-03-16. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.

[W1-1] Booth, William (March 9, 2009). "In El Salvador Vote, Big Opportunity for Leftists". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/08/AR2009030801775.html. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

[R1-2] Factbox: Salvadoran President-elect Mauricio Funes. Reuters 2009-03-16. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.

[3] Left-winger wins El Salvador poll. BBC News 2009-03-16. Retrieved on 2009-03-16.

[Left_Turn-4] "Left Turn", The Economist: 40, March 21-27

[5] Ellingwood, Ken (June 26, 2008). "In El Salvador, journalist may lead leftists to center stage". Los Angeles Times: p. 2. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/26/world/fg-elsalvador26. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

[6] (Spanish) "Mauricio Funes (Biography)". Mauricio Funes: Un cambio seguro. http://www.mauriciofunespresidente.com/biografia_mauricio_funes.php?position=militancia. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

[7] "4 awards for Latin American Coverage". http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/27/world/4-awards-for-latin-american-coverage.html.

[8] (Spanish) "Fallece en París Alejandro Funes, hijo del periodista Mauricio Funes". Chichicaste. October 11, 2007. http://chichicaste.blogcindario.com/2007/10/00682-comunicado-oficial-sobre-la-muerte-de-alejandro-funes-hijo-de-mauricio-funes.html. Retrieved 11 March 2009.

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Contents

[edit] Journalism

[edit] Election 2009

[edit] Education and personal life

[edit] References

[edit] External links