Juan Antonio Martínez Varela was a retired Salvadoran military officer who served as

Minister of National Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 1999 until 2004.

Military career

Juan Antonio Martínez Varela graduated from the

Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School The Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School (Spanish: ), abbreviated as the EMCGGB, is a military academy in El Salvador. It was established in 1868 and is named after Captain General Gerardo Barrios who served as President of El Salvad ...

in December 2004 with the rank of Second Lieutenant in the

Salvadoran Air Force The Salvadoran Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Salvadoreña, abbreviated FAS) is the air force component of the Armed Forces of El Salvador, and is an independent branch from the army and navy. Early history The Salvadoran Army Air Force ('' es, ...

. He was trained to be a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

and a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He served as Chief of the General Staff of the Salvadoran Air Force from June 1993 to June 1998. He also served as the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces from June 1998 until June 1999. On 1 June 1999, he was appointed as

Minister of National Defense of El Salvador The Minister of National Defense of El Salvador is a Salvadoran military officer who serves as the head of the Ministry of National Defense of El Salvador. History The position of Minister of National Defense was created on 1 March 1900 by ...

by President

Francisco Flores Pérez Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez (17 October 1959 – 30 January 2016) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1999 to 1 June 2004 as a member of the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA). ...

and he served until 1 June 2004.

Personal life

His father was Colonel Juan Antonio Martínez Varela who was the Director of the Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School from 1969 to 1971, served as Minister of the Interior of El Salvador during the presidency of

Alfredo Cristiani Alfredo Félix Cristiani Burkard (born 22 November 1947) is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994. Life and career Born into a wealthy family in San Salvador, his father Felix Cristiani was an Italian immig ...

, and signed the

Chapultepec Peace Accords The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of Peace treaty, peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the El Salvador, Salvadoran government and the Farabund ...

in 1992. He passed away on 23 February 2021.

Commands held

*Commander of the Combat Wing *Chief of Operations of the Air General Staff *Commander of the Aeronautical Military Training Center *Commander of the Second Air Brigade

Awards and decorations

*Medal to the Combatant *White Nun

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martínez Varela, Juan Antonio Living people Salvadoran military personnel Defence ministers of El Salvador Captain General Gerardo Barrios Military School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)