José María Cornejo Merino (10 November 1788 – 24 November 1864) was a Salvadoran politician. Two times he served as chief of state of El Salvador (1829–30 and 1830–32).

Early life

Cornejo was born in 1788 to José María Cornejo and Jacoba Merino. He married Nicolasa de Lezama. In Guatemala he studied philosophy, obtaining a diploma on 14 January 1809. Later he studied canon law, but without graduating, and after that civil law, which he also did not finish. He was in Guatemala when the

United Provinces of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

approved inclusion into the

First Mexican Empire The Mexican Empire ( es, Imperio Mexicano, ) was a constitutional monarchy, the first independent government of Mexico and the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence. It is one of the few modern-era, ...

of Agustín de Iturbide. Because Cornejo opposed this union, he was sent to prison. He was freed in June 1822, and returned to El Salvador.

Career

He was a deputy to the state congress in 1826, 1827 and 1828, when El Salvador was part of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

. Attaining considerable fame, he also became mayor of San Vicente and permanent councilman. When elections for chief of state were convoked among the towns, Cornejo was the winner. He took possession of the government (still a state within the federation) on 30 January 1829 and governed for a little more than a year, to 16 February 1830. He served a second term from 4 December 1830 to 30 April 1832. Federal President

Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a Central American politician who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America h ...

transferred the capital of the Federation from

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

to San Salvador in December 1831, but because of opposition from Cornejo (who opposed the federation), Morazán was forced to leave San Salvador on January 6, 1832. He went to Honduras, where he awaited the arrival of more troops from Nicaragua to reenter El Salvador. Together with

Manuel José Arce Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga (1 January 1787 – 14 December 1847) was a decorated salvadoran General and president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1825 to 1829, followed by Francisco Morazán. Background Manuel José Arce was ...

Cornejo proclaimed the separation of El Salvador from the Union in 1832. On 17 March of that year the Salvadoran town of Chalatenango pronounced against Cornejo and in favor of the federal government. The town of

Metapán Metapán is a city and municipality in the Santa Ana department of El Salvador. Metapán is situated in the northern part of the department, bordering Honduras and Guatemala. It is the second largest city in the department after Santa Ana and ...

did likewise.''El Periódico Nuevo Enfoque'', March 2007
Morazán attacked

San Miguel, El Salvador San Miguel () is a city in eastern El Salvador. It is the country's third most populous city. It is located 138 km east of the capital, San Salvador. It is also the capital of the department of San Miguel and a municipality. The population ...

on 28 February 1832. On 14 March 1832 in the Battle of Jocoro, he defeated Cornejo. On 28 March he defeated him again at San Salvador. Cornejo was taken prisoner and Morazán took over direct control of El Salvador. He called elections for a constituent assembly, which subsequently elected

Mariano Prado Mariano Prado Baca (1776 – 1837) was a Central American lawyer and a four-time, liberal chief of state of El Salvador, while it was a state in the Federal Republic of Central America (1823–24, 1824, 1826–29 and 1832-33). Biography Born in ...

chief of state and Joaquín de San Martín vice chief of state.

References

External links

Brief biography
from the Salvadoran government web site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornejo, Jose Maria 1788 births 1864 deaths People from San Vicente, El Salvador Salvadoran people of Spanish descent Presidents of El Salvador