Gloria Salguero Gross

Personal life and family

Salguero Gross was the daughter of Miguel Ángel Salguero and Victoria Carolina Gross de Salguero, landowners with investments in agriculture and livestock; the latter was of German ancestry and worked both as a landowner and as a lawyer.

Education

She completed her primary and secondary school studies at the Colegio La Asunción in Santa Ana and San Salvador. She studied Economics at Central American University "José Simeón Cañas." In Europe, she studied world history, geography, literature, and art in Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom. She spoke Spanish, English, German, and French.

Political career

Salguero Gross was the second female President of the Legislative Assembly, but was the first to serve a full term from 1994 to 1997, since María Julia Castillo Rodas, of the National Coalition Party, was the first woman to serve in this office in the history of the country between 1983 and 1985, but did not serve full term. Later, Salguero Gross was named Presidential Commissioner for the Democratic Governance from 2004 to 2009.

She began her political career as a Deputy for the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador in 1982, where she was a constituent deputy from 1982 to 1983, serving in the Office of the Secretary of the Board of Directors when the Constituent Assembly wrote the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador. In addition, she integrated the commission to draft the Constitution and was highlighted as one of the people to contribute many ideas at the time the articles of the Constitution were drafted. From 1988 to 1991 she served as the Secretary of the Board of Directors. She was the Secretary of the Legislative Assembly in the time from 1991 to 1994, and a member of the National Commission for the Consolidation of Peace from 1992 to 1994.

She served as President for the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) from 1995 to 1997, President of the Foundation for Democracy, Peace, Progress, and Liberty (FUNDEPAL) from 1997 to 2001, and was in charge of the Political Issues for COENA from 1991 to 1995.

In 2001, she resigned from the Nationalist Republican Alliance in which she served in the office of a proprietary deputy to found another party: the Republican People's Party (PPR) due to differences with the national executive advisor of the party. After an absence of nearly 3 years, she returned to ARENA to support the president of COENA, José Antonio Salaverria, and the presidential candidate at that time, Elías Antonio Saca.

Other offices: Deputy of the Central American Parliament (2001–2006) and Vice President of the Latin American Parliament (1994–1997). Presidential Commissioner for Democratic Governance (2004–2009) and as Designee of the President of the Republic she performed as the Coordinator for the National Commission for Local Development (CONADEL) and Coordinator for the National Commission of Labor Development (CONAMOL), as well Coordinator of the Permanent Round Table for Dialogue and Understanding during the presidential term of Elías Antonio Saca.

Of all of the recognitions she received, one of the most notable was her recognition by the Honorable Legislative Assembly on June 11, 2010, with the highest honor bestowed by the country by naming her the "Hija Meritísima de El Salvador" in recognition of her long political career of more than 30 years.

Death

Salguero Gross died from cardiac arrest at a hospital in Santa Ana, El Salvador, on 1 November 2015, at the age of 74. Her funeral was held at Iglesia Santa Lucía with burial in Santa Isabel cemetery, also located in Santa Ana.