Rubén Ignacio Zamora Rivas (born November 9, 1942) is 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.

Education

*until the age of nineteen he studied in a

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

, got influenced by the

theology of liberation Liberation theology is a Christian theological approach emphasizing the liberation of the oppressed. In certain contexts, it engages socio-economic analyses, with "social concern for the poor and political liberation for oppressed peoples". In ...

, was attracted by ecclesial base communities, where the formation of peasant collectives and self-help communities began. *He completed a law degree abroad.

Politician

*His efforts for the rural poor soon faced with the repression of the ruling oligarchy of landowners (''Argolla de oro'') and military. *In 1960 he joined the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

(PDC), founded by

José Napoleón Duarte José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes (23 November 1925 – 23 February 1990) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1984 to 1 June 1989. He was mayor of San Salvador before running for president in 1972. He los ...

. *Ahead of the presidential elections of 1972, the PDC joined together with other opposition groups, the social democratic MNR and the further to the left ''Unión Democrática Nacionalista'' (UDN, fundada en 1969), the ''Unión Nacional Opositora'' (UNO). Duarte ran for the presidency, MNR leader Guillermo Ungo for the office of vice president. *He was a member of the cabinet of the Salvadoran government

Revolutionary Government Junta of El Salvador , national_anthem = '' Himno Nacional de El Salvador'' , image_map = LocationElSalvador.svg , capital = San Salvador , common_languages = Spanish , religion = , demonym = Sal ...

following the October 15, 1979 coup, but he resigned in early 1980 to protest the escalation of repression as the horrific

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

was breaking out. His brother, Mario, was serving as Attorney General when he was assassinated by a right wing death squad on February 23, 1980. After resigning from government, Rubén Zamora helped found the Frente Democrático Revolucionario (FDR) in April 1980. After some time in exile, Rubén Zamora returned to

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 November 1987 and helped to found the Convergencia Democrática (CD), a center-left electoral coalition that, still in the midst of the civil war, competed in the 1989 elections. Its willingness to compete marked an attempt to reestablish a peaceful center-left. In the first presidential election following the civil war in 1994, Zamora was the presidential candidate for the leftist coalition that included the former guerrilla Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. He finished in second place with 25% of the vote. In subsequent years he has run for office with various incarnations of center-left parties, such as the Centro Democrático Unido (CDU - United Democratic Center). During the 1990s, he served as Vice President of the National Assembly and as a member of the National Peace Commission, and he founded and led the Centro Democrático Unido party. Zamora has taught political science at the

University of El Salvador The University of El Salvador or Universidad de El Salvador (UES) is the oldest and the most prominent university institution in El Salvador. It serves as the national university of the country. The main campus, Ciudad Universitaria, is located ...

, Universidad Centroamericana, Universidad San Carlos, and

Universidad Rafael Landivar Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

(both in

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

Essex University The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

, and

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He has published many works on Salvadoran politics, including El Salvador, heridas que no cierran: Los partidos políticos en la post-guerra, and La izquierda partidaria salvadoreña: Entre la identidad y el poder. *On he was designated ambassador to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he was accredited on until he was accredited as Permanent Representative to the

Headquarters of the United Nations zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on . Serving as the Ambassador of El Salvador to The

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 ...

, he was known for his humble nature.

References

Living people United Democratic Centre (El Salvador) politicians Ambassadors of El Salvador to the United States Permanent Representatives of El Salvador to the United Nations 1942 births {{ElSalvador-politician-stub