Minister of National Defense (El Salvador)

The Minister of National Defense of El Salvador (Spanish: Ministro de Defensa Nacional de El Salvador) is a Salvadoran cabinet minister who serves as the head of the Ministry of National Defense of El Salvador. The position of Minister of National Defense is typically held by an officer of the Armed Forces of El Salvador.

Minister of National Defense of El Salvador
Ministro de Defensa Nacional
Incumbent René Francis Merino Monroy since 1 June 2019
Ministry of National Defense
Appointer	President of El Salvador
Formation	29 March 1856 (1856-03-29)
First holder	Cruz Ulloa

List of ministers

The following table lists all the individuals who held the office of Minister of National Defense.

Minister of National Defense			Assumed office	Left office	Time in office	Branch/political party	President
1		Cruz Ulloa (?–?)	29 March 1856	30 April 1856	32 days	Conservative		Rafael Campo
Office vacant (30 April 1856 – 1 February 1858)
2		Ignacio Gómez (?–?)	1 February 1858	24 February 1858	23 days	Conservative		Miguel Santín del Castillo
3		Cayetano Bosque (?–?)	24 February 1858	21 November 1858	270 days	Conservative
4		General José Trinidad Cabañas (1805–1871)	26 November 1858	5 February 1859	76 days	Liberal/Army
Office vacant (5 February 1859 – 20 December 1859)
5		José Félix Quirós (1811–1883)	20 December 1859	6 June 1860	1 year, 122 days	Independent		Gerardo Barrios
Office vacant (6 June 1860 – 5 March 1861)
6		Eugenio Aguilar (1804–1879)	5 March 1861	24 March 1863	2 years, 19 days	Liberal		Gerardo Barrios
Office vacant (24 March 1863 – 27 October 1863)
7		Juan Delgado y San Juan (?–?)	27 October 1863	2 February 1865	1 year, 98 days	Conservative		Francisco Dueñas
Office vacant (2 February 1865 – 1 February 1871)
8		Rafael Zaldívar (1834–1903)	1 February 1871	12 April 1871	70 days	Liberal		Francisco Dueñas
Office vacant (12 April 1871 – 2 January 1877)
9		General Fabio Morán (?–?)	2 January 1877	30 November 1877	332 days	Army		Rafael Zaldívar
Office vacant (30 November 1877 – 1 January 1884)
10		General Adán Mora (?–?)	1 January 1884	14 May 1885	1 year, 133 days	Army		Rafael Zaldívar
Office vacant (14 May 1885 – 2 June 1887)
11		General Carlos Ezeta (1852–1903)	2 June 1887	15 August 1888	261 days	Liberal/Army		Francisco Menéndez
12		General Pedro José Escalón (1847–1923)	18 August 1888	20 October 1889	1 year, 140 days	Conservative/Army
Office vacant (20 October 1889 – 1 January 1891)
13		General Antonio Ezeta (?–?)	1 January 1891	31 March 1891	89 days	Liberal/Army		Carlos Ezeta
14		General Valentín Amaya (?–?)	31 March 1891	23 January 1892	298 days	Army
15		Domingo Angulo (?–?)	24 January 1892	14 November 1892	295 days	Liberal
14		General Valentín Amaya (?–?)	1 January 1893	10 June 1894	1 year, 160 days	Army
Office vacant (10 June 1894 – 4 March 1897)
16		Juan Francisco Castro (?–?)	4 March 1897	27 September 1897	207 days	Liberal		Rafael Antonio Gutiérrez
17		Rafael Severo López (?–?)	28 September 1897	13 November 1898	1 year, 47 days	Liberal
18		General Tomás Regalado Romero (1861–1906)	14 November 1898	12 September 1900	1 year, 302 days	Army/Liberal		Himself
Office vacant (12 September 1900 – 7 January 1901)
18		General Tomás Regalado Romero (1861–1906)	7 January 1901	1 March 1903	2 years, 53 days	Army/Liberal		Himself
19		General Fernando Figueroa (1849–1919)	1 March 1903	10 September 1907	4 years, 193 days	Army/Liberal		Pedro José Escalón
								Himself
Office vacant (10 September 1907 – 1 March 1911)
20		Brigadier General José María Peralta Lagos (1873–1944)	1 March 1911	14 February 1913	1 year, 350 days	Army		Manuel Enrique Araujo
21		Francisco Martínez Suárez (?–?)	14 February 1913	8 July 1913	144 days	Liberal		Carlos Meléndez
22		Alfonso Quiñónez Molina (1874–1950)	8 July 1913	29 August 1914	1 year, 52 days	Liberal
23		Pío Romero Bosque (1860–1935)	29 August 1914	1 March 1915	184 days	Liberal		Alfonso Quiñónez Molina
24		Brigadier General Luis Alonso Barahona (1867–1915)	1 March 1915	20 October 1915	233 days	Army		Carlos Meléndez
25		Enrique Córdova (?–?)	20 October 1915	1 March 1919	3 years, 132 days	Liberal
23		Pío Romero Bosque (1860–1935)	1 March 1919	1 March 1927	8 years, 0 days	National Democratic Party		Jorge Meléndez
								Alfonso Quiñónez Molina
26		Alberto Gómez Zárate (?–?)	1 March 1927	19 May 1930	3 years, 79 days	National Democratic Party		Pío Romero Bosque
27		Pío Romero Bosque Molina (?–?)	20 May 1930	1 March 1931	285 days	National Democratic Party
28		Brigadier General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (1882–1966)	1 March 1931	1 December 1931	275 days	Army/National Republican Party		Arturo Araujo
29		Colonel Salvador López Rochac (?–?)	1 December 1931	2 December 1931	1 day	Salvadoran Laborist Party
–		Colonel Osmín Aguirre y Salinas (1889–1977) (Acting)	2 December 1931	4 December 1931	2 days	Army		Civic Directory
–		Colonel Joaquín Valdés (1906–1957) Acting)	4 December 1931	2 April 1934	2 years, 122 days	Army		Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
–		Brigadier General Andrés Ignacio Menéndez (1879–1962) Acting)	3 April 1934	28 August 1934	148 days	Army/National Pro Patria Party
–		Brigadier General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (1882–1966) Acting)	28 August 1934	1 March 1935	185 days	Army/National Pro Patria Party		Andrés Ignacio Menéndez
30		Brigadier General Andrés Ignacio Menéndez (1879–1962)	1 March 1935	9 May 1944	9 years, 69 days	Army/National Pro Patria Party		Maximiliano Hernández Martínez
–		Brigadier General Fidel Cristino Garay (?–?)	9 May 1944	20 October 1944	164 days	Army/National Pro Patria Party		Andrés Ignacio Menéndez
–		Colonel Salvador Peña Trejo (?–?)	21 October 1944	1 March 1945	131 days	Army		Osmín Aguirre y Salinas
31		Brigadier General Salvador Castaneda Castro (1888–1965)	1 March 1945	31 March 1945	30 days	Army/Unification Social Democratic Party		Himself
31		Brigadier General Mauro Espínola Castro (?–?)	31 March 1945	14 December 1948	3 years, 258 days	Army		Salvador Castaneda Castro
–		Lieutenant Colonel Fidel Rodríguez Quintanilla (?–?) Acting	14 December 1948	14 September 1950	1 year, 274 days	Army		Revolutionary Council of Government
32		Major Óscar Adán Bolaños (?–?)	14 September 1950	10 December 1953	3 years, 87 days	Army		Óscar Osorio
33		Colonel Marco Antonio Molina (?–?)	10 December 1953	14 September 1956	2 years, 279 days	Army
34		Colonel Adán Parada (?–?)	14 September 1956	20 October 1960	4 years, 36 days	Army		José María Lemus
–		Lieutenant Colonel Alonso Castillo Navarrete (?–?) Acting	20 October 1960	25 January 1961	97 days	Army		Junta of Government
–		Lieutenant Colonel Armando Molina Mena (?–?) Acting	26 January 1961	9 May 1961	104 days	Army		Civic-Military Directory
–		Major Óscar Rodríguez Simó (?–?) Acting	9 May 1961	18 November 1961	193 days	Army
–		Major Mariano Castro Morán (?–?) Acting	18 November 1961	24 January 1962	67 days	Army
–		Divisional General Armando Díaz Liévano (?–?) Acting	24 January 1962	1 July 1962	158 days	Army
								Eusebio Rodolfo Cordón Cea
35		Colonel Marco Aurelio Zacapa (?–?)	1 July 1962	1 July 1967	5 years, 0 days	Army/National Conciliation Party		Julio Adalberto Rivera Carballo
36		Colonel Fidel Torres (?–?)	1 July 1967	1 July 1972	5 years, 0 days	Army/National Conciliation Party		Fidel Sánchez Hernández
37		Brigadier General Carlos Humberto Romero (1924–2017)	1 July 1972	1 July 1977	5 years, 0 days	Army/National Conciliation Party		Arturo Armando Molina
38		Brigadier General Federico Castillo Yanes (?–2013)	1 July 1977	15 October 1979	2 years, 106 days	Army/National Conciliation Party		Carlos Humberto Romero
–		Brigadier General José Guillermo García (born 1933) Acting	15 October 1979	19 April 1983	3 years, 186 days	Army		Revolutionary Government Junta
								Álvaro Magaña
39		Brigadier General Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova (1937–2023)	19 April 1983	1 June 1989	6 years, 43 days	Army
								José Napoleón Duarte
40		Brigadier General Rafael Humberto Larios López (born 1937)	1 June 1989	31 August 1990	1 year, 91 days	Army
								Alfredo Cristiani
41		Divisional General René Emilio Ponce (1947–2011)	31 August 1990	1 July 1993	2 years, 304 days	Army
42		Divisional General Humberto Corado Figueroa (born 1948)	1 July 1993	31 December 1995	2 years, 183 days	Army
								Armando Calderón Sol
43		Divisional General Jaime Mauricio Guzmán Morales (born ?)	31 December 1995	31 December 1998	3 years, 0 days	Army
44		General of Aviation Juan Antonio Martínez Várela (born ?)	31 December 1998	1 June 2004	5 years, 153 days	Air Force
								Francisco Flores Pérez
45		Divisional General Otto Alejandro Romero Orellana (born 1955)	1 June 2004	31 December 2007	3 years, 213 days	Army		Antonio Saca
46		Divisional General Jorge Alberto Molina Contreras (born 1956)	31 December 2007	1 June 2009	1 year, 152 days	Army
47		Divisional General David Munguía Payés (born ?)	1 June 2009	23 November 2011	2 years, 175 days	Army		Mauricio Funes
48		Divisional General José Atilio Benítez Parada (born ?)	23 November 2011	12 July 2013	1 year, 231 days	Army
47		Divisional General David Munguía Payés (born ?)	12 July 2013	1 June 2019	5 years, 324 days	Army
								Salvador Sánchez Cerén
49		Vice Admiral René Francis Merino Monroy (born 1963)	1 June 2019	Incumbent	5 years, 168 days	Navy		Nayib Bukele

See also

• President of El Salvador