Victoria Marina Velásquez de Avilés (born 5 July 1943) is a Salvadoran jurist.

Biography

Victoria Marina Velásquez was born in

Usulután Usulután () is the fifth largest city in El Salvador, and capital of the Usulután Department in the south-east of El Salvador. As of 2006, it is estimated to have population of 71,636 people. Usulután rests in a rich agricultural valley and ...

in 1943. In 1974, she graduated from 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 ...

as a doctor of jurisprudence and social sciences. In 1979, she was appointed undersecretary of the by the first Revolutionary Government Junta, but in January 1980, she resigned from this position along with several other officials, citing the Junta's inability to control

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

and its failure to implement agrarian and social reforms. In the 1980s she worked as a lawyer in free practice, advising social organizations on human rights and labor relations, as well as acting as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

. After the signing of 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, she was named Deputy Prosecutor of the Rights of the Child, and in 1995 she was elected as head of the Office of the . Serving until 1998, she received international recognition for her commitment to consolidate the institution established in the Peace Accords in the sense of genuine surveillance of abuses of power and human rights violations committed by agents of the state. However, the right-wing parties represented in the Legislative Assembly rejected her reelection and chose Eduardo Peñate Polanco as her successor, despite his lack of background in human rights work. In 1998 she was proposed as a presidential candidate by the National Convention of the

Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (, abbreviated FMLN) is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group. The FMLN was formed as an umbrella group on 10 October 1980, from five leftist guerrilla organizations; ...

, along with the mayor of San Salvador, Héctor Silva. After a prolonged debate, the convention decided not to choose either of them, and opted for a consensus candidate, Facundo Guardado. In 2000, Velásquez was elected as a magistrate of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

for a term of nine years, exercising her duties in the Civil Chamber from 2000 to 2003 and the Constitutional Chamber from 2003 to 2009. As a constitutional magistrate, she maintained a progressive profile with a focus on human rights. On 1 June 2009, President

Mauricio Funes Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena (18 October 1959 – 21 January 2025) was a Salvadoran politician and journalist who served as the 79th president of El Salvador from 2009 to 2014. Funes won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of t ...

appointed her Minister of Labor and Social Welfare in the first left-wing government elected by popular vote. In this position, she undertook to promote the freedom of association of public employees and the strict application of labor legislation. President Funes replaced her in 2011, but appointed her as ambassador of El Salvador to Switzerland and permanent representative at the

United Nations Office at Geneva The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in Geneva, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the United Nations where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside ...

, positions she held from June 2011 to May 2014. In 2013 she was elected for a one-year term as chairperson of the Governing Body of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

. In June 2014, she was elected by the Summit of Heads of State and Government of Central America as Secretary General of the

Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System (, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spanish: ''Organización de Estados Centroamericano ...

for a three-year term.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Velasquez, Victoria Marina 1943 births Living people Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front politicians Government ministers of El Salvador Labor ministers of El Salvador International Labour Organization people People from Usulután Department Ambassadors of El Salvador to Switzerland Permanent representatives of El Salvador to the United Nations at Geneva Salvadoran women lawyers 21st-century women lawyers 21st-century Salvadoran lawyers University of El Salvador alumni Women government ministers of El Salvador 20th-century Salvadoran lawyers 20th-century women lawyers