Alfonso Quiñónez Molina (11 January 1874 – 22 May 1950) was a Salvadoran politician and physician who served as

President of El Salvador 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

on three occasions during the 1910s and 1920s. Between his presidencies, he also served as

Vice President of El Salvador The vice president of El Salvador () is a political position in El Salvador which is elected concurrently with the position of President of El Salvador. A list of the office holders follows. The list may not be complete. List of vice president ...

on two occasions under his brothers-in-law Carlos and Jorge Meléndez. The presidencies of Quiñónez and his brothers-in-law from 1913 to 1927 are collectively known as the

Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty The Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty () was a period in El Salvador's history from 1913 to 1927 when the Salvadoran government was controlled by the Meléndez–Quiñónez political family. During this period, three of the family's members—bro ...

Early life

Alfonso Quiñónez Molina was born on 11 January 1874 in

Suchitoto Suchitoto is a municipality in the Department of Cuscatlán, El Salvador that has seen continuous human habitation long before Spanish colonization. Within its municipal territory, Suchitoto holds the site of the original founding of the Villa ...

, El Salvador. His parents were Lucio Quiñónez and Aurelia Molina de Quiñónez. Quiñónez studied medicine at the Liceo San Luis in Santa Tecla. He then studied at the

University of El Salvador The University of 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 in the capital of San Salvador ...

and earned his

Doctorate of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

in surgery in 1898. Quiñónez practiced medicine at the General Hospital of

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

beginning in 1897, and the following year, he was became a member of the board of the country's insane asylum. He also served as the chair of the hygiene and therapeutics and a counselor of the medical faculty at the University of El Salvador. In 1904, Quiñónez became the director of the insane asylum, and in 1906, he was an acting physician for the country's

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

society. Quiñónez married Leonor Meléndez in 1905. Two of Quiñónez's brothers-in-law through his marriage to Leonor Meléndez were Carlos and Jorge Meléndez.

Early political career

Quiñónez was a pragmatic liberal. In 1903, Quiñónez was elected as an alderman of the San Salvador city council. In 1912, he was elected as the

mayor of San Salvador The Mayor of San Salvador (Spanish language, Spanish: ) is the head of the municipal government of the city of San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador. History The position of Mayor of San Salvador was established on 1 April 1525 with ...

and as an alternate deputy of the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly () is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. History The organization was founded in 1824 as the Central American Congress (). Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. Until ...

Presidencies and vice presidencies

First presidency and vice presidency

On 9 February 1913, Quiñónez's brother-in-law Carlos Meléndez became the provisional

president of El Salvador 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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

upon the assassination of President

Manuel Enrique Araujo Doctor of Pharmacy, Doctor Manuel Enrique Araujo (12 October 1865 – 9 February 1913) was a Salvadoran politician and physician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 March 1911 until his death on 9 February 1913 to his injuries sustain ...

. Carlos Meléndez succeeded Araujo as he was the country's first presidential designate and Vice President

Onofre Durán Santillana ''Onofre'' is a genus of Brazilian Salticidae, jumping spiders that was first described by G. R. S. Ruiz & Antônio Brescovit, Antônio Domingos Brescovit in 2007. it contains only three species, found in the Amazon basin of Brazil: ''Onofre ca ...

had earlier resigned. On 4 March 1914, the Legislative Assembly named Quiñónez as the first presidential designate, and on 21 December 1914, Quiñónez became the country's provisional president upon Carlos Meléndez's resignation in order to run for president in 1915. Quiñónez's cabinet consisted of

Francisco Martínez Suárez Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Meaning of the name Francisco In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Commu ...

as minister of exterior relations, public instruction, and justice;

Cecilio Bustamante Cecilio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Cecilio Apostol (1877–1938), Filipino poet *Cecilio Báez (1862–1941), provisional President of Paraguay 1905–1906 * Cecilio Perez Bordon, Paraguayan Minister of Public Works un ...

as minister of government, promotion, and agriculture;

Samuel Luna Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venerated a ...

as minister of finance, public credit, and benefits; and

Pío Romero Bosque Pío Romero Bosque (1860 – 10 December 1935), contemporarily referred to as Don Pío, was a Salvadoran politician and lawyer who served as President of El Salvador from 1927 to 1931. He had previously served as Alfonso Quiñónez Molina's V ...

as minister of war and the navy. During Quiñónez's first provisional presidency, he established the Military Hospital. Carlos Meléndez won the 1915 presidential election and appointed Quiñónez to serve as

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Second presidency and vice presidency

On 21 December 1918, Carlos Meléndez resigned as president due to illness, and Quiñónez assumed the presidency in a provisional capacity. Quiñónez's second cabinet consisted of Bustamante as minister of government, promotion, and agriculture and

Enrique Córdova Enrique () is the Spanish variant of the given name Heinrich of Germanic origin. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Enric (Catalan), Enrico (Italian), Henrik (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian), Heinrich (German), Hendrik, Henk (Du ...

as minister of war and the navy. In 1918, Quiñónez established the Lega Rojas, or the Red league, which intended to work as a mediator between the oligarchy and the peasants. It was deemed as the first attempt to form an official party in the country. However, the far-reaching oligarchic control of the prevented the organization from achieving its goal. Later it supported the candidacy of President Jorge Meléndez.

Third presidency

Quiñónez won the 1923 presidential election unanimously with 176,000 votes. He was inaugurated on 1 March 1923 and his cabinet consisted of Francisco Lima as minister of government, promotion, and agriculture; Reyes Arrieta Rossi as minister of exterior relations, public instruction, and justice; Calixto Velado as minister of finance, public credit, and benefits; and Romero as minister of war and the navy. Romero also served as Quiñónez's vice president. As president, Quiñónez invested in the construction of railways and highways. Quiñónez handed the presidency to Vice President

. He thought that as Romero did not spring from a rich family, he would be a puppet.

Later life and death

Quiñónez, along with other members of the dynasty organized a coup against Romero. However, the coup, which took place in December 1927, ultimately failed. After this, Romero exiled Quiñónez from El Salvador. Quiñónez returned to El Salvador in 1936. Quiñónez died on 22 May 1950 in San Salvador.

Electoral history

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

Books

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quinonez Molina, Alfonso 1874 births 1950 deaths 19th-century Salvadoran lawyers 20th-century presidents of El Salvador 20th-century Salvadoran politicians Defence ministers of El Salvador Mayors of San Salvador Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty Members of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador National Democratic Party (El Salvador) politicians People from Cuscatlán Department Presidents of El Salvador Salvadoran exiles Salvadoran physicians Salvadoran surgeons Vice presidents of El Salvador University of El Salvador alumni