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El Salvador The Executive
The executive branch is made up of the president of the
republic, the vice president, ministers and vice ministers of
state, and their subordinate officials
(see
fig. 8). The
president must be Salvadoran by birth, over thirty years of age,
of good character, and a member of a legally recognized political
party. The president is elected by direct popular vote, serves a
five-year term, and may not run for reelection. Several
categories of individuals are proscribed from seeking the office
of president: anyone who has held the office of president for
more than six months prior to the beginning of a presidential
term; the spouse or relatives to the fourth degree of
consanguinity of said officeholder; anyone who had held the
office of president of the Legislative Assembly or president of
the Supreme Court of Justice for one year prior to the beginning
of a presidential term; anyone who has held the post of minister,
vice minister, or head of an official autonomous institution for
the same one-year period; or any professional member of the
military who is or has been on active duty during a three-year
period prior to the beginning of a term. The same restrictions
apply to those holding the offices of vice president or
designado (the two individuals designated by the
legislature as next in line after the vice president for
presidential succession).
The powers of the president are circumscribed to some extent
by the Constitution. The president requires the approval of the
Legislative Assembly in order to leave the country. He is
required to report to the assembly upon request on any subject
except secret military strategy. In addition, the president can
be declared physically or mentally incapacitated by a two-thirds
vote of the assembly.
The president is charged with the "direction of foreign
relations" and is designated the commander in chief of the armed
forces. He is required to report to the Legislative Assembly
within the first two months of each year on developments within
the country and the government during the course of the previous
calendar year (the Salvadoran "state of the union" address).
Ministers and vice ministers are named and removed by the
president. They are required to be Salvadoran by birth and over
twenty-five years of age. Together with the president and vice
president, the Council of Ministers (or cabinet) produces the
government plan--the projected requirements of the government for
the coming year--and proposes a budget to the assembly at least
three months before the beginning of the fiscal year.
Data as of November 1988
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