Government & politics — El Salvador
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Government & politics at a glance
Government structure, legal system, citizenship, and international relations. Key figure for El Salvador: Republic of El Salvador
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Identity & names
- Full Country Name
Republic of El Salvador
- Country Name
El Salvador
- Local - Long
República de El Salvador
- Local - Short
El Salvador
- Etymology- history of name
name is an abbreviation of the original Spanish conquistador designation for the area "Provincia de Nuestro Senor Jesus Cristo, el Salvador del Mundo" (Province of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World), which became simply "El Salvador" (The Savior)
- Independence
15 September 1821 (from Spain)
- National Holiday
Independence Day, 15 September (1821)
Political system
- Government Type
presidential republic
- Constitution
- history: many previous; latest drafted 16 December 1983,
- enacted 23 December 1983 amendments: proposals require agreement by absolute majority of the Legislative Assembly membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; constitutional articles on basic principles, and citizen rights and freedoms cannot be amended; amended 2003, 2009, 2014
- Legal System:
civil law system with minor common law influence; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court
- Executive Branch:
- chief of state: Acting President Claudia Juana RODRÍGUEZ DE GUEVARA (since 1 December 2023); note - parliament granted a six-month leave of absence to President Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez and Vice President Félix Augusto Antonio ULLOA Garay (to allow them to participate in the 4 February 2024 presidential election) and approved the appointment of Claudia Juana RODRÍGUEZ DE GUEVARA as acting president from 1 December 2023 to 1 June 2024, when election winner Nayib Armando BUKEL
- E Ortez will be sworn in for a second term head of government: Acting President Claudia Juana RODRÍ
- GUEZ DE GUEVARA (since 1 December 2023) cabinet: Council
- of Ministers selected by the president elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a single 5-year term; election last held
- on 4 February 2024 (next to be held in 2029) election results: 2024: Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez reelected president - Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez (Nuevas Ideas) 84.7%, Manuel FLORES (FMLN) 6.4%, Joel SANCHEZ (ARENA) 5.6%, Luis PARADA (NT) 2%, other 1.3%;
- note he will be inaugurated on 1 June 2024 2019: Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez elected president - Nayib Armando BUKELE Ortez (GANA) 53.1%, Carlos CALLEJA Hakker (ARENA) 31.7%, Hugo MARTINEZ (FMLN) 14.4%, other 0.8%
- Legislative Branch:
Description
unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (84 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies and a single nationwide constituency by open-list proportional representation vote to serve 3-year terms)
Elections
last held on 28 February 2021 (next to be held in 2024)
Election Results
- percent of vote by party - NI 66.5%, ARENA 12.2%, FMLN 6.9%, GANA 5.3%, PCN 4.1%, other 5%
- seats by party - NI 56, ARENA 14, GANA 5, FMLN 4, other 5;
Composition
men 61, women 23, percent of women 27.4%
- Judicial Branch:
- highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema de Justicia (consists of 15 judges, including its president, and 15 substitute judges organized into Constitutional, Civil, Penal, and Adminis
- trative Conflict Chambers) judge selection and term of office: judges elected by the Legislative Assembly on the recommendation of both the National Council of the Judicature, an independent body elected by the Legislative Assembly, and the Bar Association; judges elected for 9-year terms, with renewal of one-third of membership every 3 years;
- consecutive reelection is allowed subordinate courts: Appellate Courts; Courts of First Instance; Courts of Peace
- Regions or States:
14 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Ahuachapan, Cabanas, Chalatenango, Cuscatlan, La Libertad, La Paz, La Union, Morazan, San Miguel, San Salvador, San Vicente, Santa Ana, Sonsonate, Usulutan
- Political Parties and Leaders:
- Christian Democratic Party or PDC [Reynaldo CARBALLO]
- Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN [Oscar ORTIZ]
- Great Alliance for National Unity or GANA [Nelson GUARDADO]
- National Coalition Party or PCN [Manuel RODRIGUEZ]
- Nationalist Republican Alliance or ARENA [Erick SALGUERO]
- New Ideas (Nuevas Ideas) or NI [Xavier Zablah BUKELE]
- Our Time (Nuestro Tiempo) or NT [Juan VALIENTE]
- Vamos or V [Josue ALVARADO Flores]
- Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
- Citizenship Criteria:
- yes residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Capital & time
- Capital Name
San Salvador
- Capital - geographic coordinate
13 42 N, 89 12 W
- Capital Time Difference
UTC-6 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
International role
- International Organization Participation:
BCIE, CACM, CD, CELAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, Petrocaribe, SICA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- International Law Organization Participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
- Diplomatic Representation from US:
chief of mission
Ambassador William H. DUNCAN (since 24 January 2023) embassy: Final Boulevard Santa Elena, Antiguo Cuscatlan, La Libertad, San Salvador mailing address: 3450 San Salvador Place, Washington, DC 20521-3450
telephone
[503] 2501-2999
FAX
[503] 2501-2150
Email address and website
- ACSSanSal@state.gov
- https://sv.usembassy.gov/
- Diplomatic Representation in the US:
chief of mission
Ambassador Carmen Milena MAYORGA VALERA (since 23 December 2020)
chancery
1400 16th Street NW, Suite 100, Washington, DC 20036
telephone
[1] (202) 595-7500
FAX
[1] (202) 232-3763
Email address and website
- infoEEUU@rree.gob.sv
consulate(s) general
Atlanta, Boston, Brentwood (NY), Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas (NV), Laredo (TX), Los Angeles, McAllen (TX), New York, San Bernardino (CA), San Francisco, Tucson (AZ), Washington (DC), Woodbridge (VA)