Mercedes Gloria Salguero Gross (24 September 1941 – 1 November 2015) was a

Salvadoran Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

businesswoman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...

, and one of the founders of the

Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance ( es, Alianza Republicana Nacionalista, ARENA) is a conservative, right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines ...

(ARENA). She served as the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly ( es, Asamblea Legislativa) is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. It is made up of 84 deputies, all of whom are elected by direct popul ...

from 1994 to 1997.

Biography

Personal life and family

Salguero Gross was the daughter of Miguel Ángel Salguero and Victoria Carolina Gross de Salguero, landowners with investments in agriculture and livestock; the latter was of

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

ancestry and worked both as a landowner and a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

Education

She completed her primary and secondary school studies at the Colegio La Asunción in Santa Ana and

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

. She studied

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

at Central American University "José Simeón Cañas". In

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, she studied

world history World history may refer to: * Human history, the history of human beings * History of Earth, the history of planet Earth * World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective * ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, and

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. She spoke

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Political career

Salguero Gross was the second female President of the Legislative Assembly, but was the first to serve a full term from 1994 to 1997, since María Julia Castillo Rodas, of the

National Coalition Party sv, Samlingspartiet , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Petteri Orpo , leader2_title = Deputy chairs , leader2_name = Antti Häkkänen Elina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen , merger = Finnish Party, Young Finnis ...

, was the first woman to serve in this office in the history of the country between 1983 and 1985, but did not serve a full term. Later, Salguero Gross was named Presidential Commissioner for the Democratic Governance from 2004 to 2009. She began her political career as a Deputy for the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador in 1982, where she was a constituent deputy from 1982 to 1983, serving in the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Directors when the Constituent Assembly wrote the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of the Republic of

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. In addition, she integrated the commission to draft the Constitution and was highlighted as one of the people to contribute many ideas at the time the articles of the Constitution were drafted. From 1988 to 1991 she served as the Secretary of the Board of Directors. She was the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly in the time from 1991 to 1994, and a member of the National Commission for the Consolidation of Peace from 1992 to 1994. She served as President of the National Executive Council (COENA) from 1991 to 1995, was President of ARENA from 1995 to 1997, and subsequently became President of the Foundation for Democracy, Peace, Progress, and Liberty (FUNDEPAL) from 1997 to 2001, In 2001, she resigned from ARENA, where she had been serving as a proprietary deputy, due to differences with the national executive advisor of the party. She went on to establish another party, the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

(PPR). After an absence of nearly 3 years, she returned to ARENA to support the president of COENA, José Antonio Salaverria, along with the presidential candidate at that time, Elías Antonio Saca. Salguero Gross also served as the Vice President of the Latin American Parliament (1994–1997), the Deputy of the Central American Parliament (2001–2006), and the Presidential Commissioner for Democratic Governance (2004–2009). Additionally, as Designee to the Presidency of the Republic, she became the Coordinator for the National Commission for Local Development (CONADEL) and Coordinator for the National Commission of Labor Development (CONAMOL). Further, she acted as Coordinator of the Permanent Round Table for Dialogue and Understanding during the presidential term of Elías Antonio Saca. On 11 June 2010, Salguero Gross was officially recognized by the Legislative Assembly with a national honour when she was declared a "Hija Meritísima de El Salvador" ("Meritorious Daughter of El Salvador") in recognition of extensive political career, which spanned more than three decades.

Death

Salguero Gross died from

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

at a hospital in

Santa Ana, El Salvador Santa Ana () is the second largest city in El Salvador, after the capital of San Salvador. It is located 64 kilometers northwest of San Salvador, the capital city. Santa Ana has approximately 374,830 (2017)) inhabitants and serves both as the c ...

, on 1 November 2015, at the age of 74. Her funeral was held at Iglesia Santa Lucía, and she was buried in Santa Isabel cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salguero Gross, Gloria 1941 births 2015 deaths Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Members of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Nationalist Republican Alliance politicians People from Santa Ana, El Salvador Disease-related deaths in El Salvador Salvadoran people of German descent Salvadoran people of German-Jewish descent 20th-century Salvadoran women politicians 20th-century Salvadoran politicians 21st-century Salvadoran women politicians 21st-century Salvadoran politicians Central American University alumni