[4] In 1841, El Salvador was constituted as an independent and sovereign nation after the rupture of the Federal Republic of Central America in 1838.
It was not until 26 September 1842 Juan José Guzmán was elected by the people as President of El Salvador.
From that moment, the republic suffered a constant series of provisional governments that brought many leaders to power.
In 1858, Captain General Gerardo Barrios became president in which his government gave entrance to the "French Bread".
In 1931, a coup d'état led by Vice President General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez overthrew Arturo Araujo.
It was not until 1939 when General Martínez called for a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution which established that the presidential term would be increased from 4 to 6 years and would begin and end on 1 January.
In 1960, a coup d'état overthrew President José María Lemus which led to the formation of a Junta of Government which would later be overthrown by the Civic-Military Directory in 1961.
On 15 October 1979, the last coup d'état in Salvadoran history took place where a group of young soldiers and officers overthrew General Carlos Humberto Romero.
The Revolutionary Government Junta was established and ruled over El Salvador while fighting against the communist guerrilla group Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).
The 1983 Constituent Assembly decided to create the 1983 constitution of El Salvador which set presidential terms to 5 years and would begin and end on June 1.
Its presidents were Alfredo Cristiani, Armando Calderón Sol, Francisco Flores, and Antonio Saca.
Mauricio Funes won the 2009 presidential election ending 20 years of ARENA rule and marked the first FMLN presidency.
Salvador Sánchez Cerén became the second FMLN president in 2014 after narrowly defeating Norman Quijano.
In 2019, Nayib Bukele, from the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), won the 2019 presidential election ending 10 years of FMLN rule.
[13] According to the 1983 constitution, the is a part of the executive branch of the Salvadoran government along with the vice president and the cabinet.
The president requires the approval of the Legislative Assembly in order to leave El Salvador for any reason.
In September 2021, the new justices ruled that constitution in fact permits immediate re-election, arguing that the constitution reads that individual who served as president prior to the incumbent term was actually prohibited from seeking re-election rather than the incumbent president.
[19][21] The only six presidents in Salvadoran history have successfully been re-elected: Doroteo Vasconcelos, Francisco Dueñas, Santiago González, Rafael Zaldívar, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, and Bukele.