John Birchman Saldivar is a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

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 ...

. A member of the United Democratic Party, Saldivar has represented the

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and Sa ...

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

in the

Belize House of Representatives The House of Representatives of Belize is one of two chambers of the National Assembly, the other being the Senate. It was created under the 1981 constitution. Members are commonly called "Area Representatives." Area Representatives are elect ...

from its creation in 2008 until his defeat in the 2020 general election. He was previously Area Representative for

Cayo South Cayo South is an electoral constituency in the Cayo District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2012 by Julius Espat of the People's United Party. Profile The Cayo South constituency was create ...

Electoral history

A resident of

, Saldivar was the UDP

standard bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

for Cayo South in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

elections, but was defeated both times by Agripino Cawich of the

People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

.General Elections 1998
Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 26 November 2014)2003 General Elections final results
, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 26 November 2014) He was elected to the seat in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

triggered by Cawich's death in August 2003, defeating Cawich's son Joaquin.Result of By-election 2003
Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 26 November 2014) In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

the city of Belmopan was redistricted out of Cayo South and given its own constituency. Saldivar contested that seat instead, defeating the PUP's Rolando Zetina.2008 General Elections Final Results
, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014) He was re-elected in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, defeating former PUP Area Rep.

Amin Hegar Amin may refer to: People * Amin (name), a masculine given name and also a surname * Al-Amin, the sixth Abbasid caliph, who ruled from 809 to 813 * Amin (Qing dynasty), an Imperial Prince of the Qing Dynasty * Amin, an arbitrator who assessed an ...

.GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS 2012
, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014) Saldivar served as the Minister of

Public Service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

and Government Improvement from 2008 to 2012 in Belize. From 2012 until February 2020, Saldivar served as the Minister of National Security. Saldivar stood as a candidate for UDP party leader in a convention on 9 February 2020 to replace the longtime incumbent, Prime Minister

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

, who is retiring from party politics. He defeated

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

Patrick Faber, but three days later was forced to resign after allegations surfaced he accepted US$50,000 from accused fraudster Lev Dermen, who was on trial in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, leaving the future of UDP leadership unclear. Although he remains a UDP member and in the Belize House, Saldivar was also stripped of his Cabinet post."PM Barrow Benches Teflon John from Cabinet"
''

Great Belize Television Great Belize Television, or as it is locally known, Channel 5, is a Belize City-based local television station established in December 1991. Channel 5 airs mostly American and Caribbean programs, as well as a variety of locally produced programs. ...

'', 12 February 2020. (accessed 19 February 2020)

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people United Democratic Party (Belize) politicians Government ministers of Belize Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Cayo South Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Belmopan {{Belize-politician-stub