He took office on 1 June 2014, after winning the 2014 presidential election as the candidate of the left-wing Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN).

[6] In Sánchez Cerén's youth, he attended the José Dolores Larreynaga Schooling Center for his primary and secondary education.

[7] In December 1965, he joined the National Association of Salvadoran Educators (ANDES 21 de Junio), the country's first teacher's union.

Funes' bid to seek the party's nomination for the 2004 presidential election was vetoed by Hándal as he was not an orthodox member and had no militant background with the FMLN during the civil war.

[9]: 113–114 During the 2009 presidential campaign, the right-wing Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) accused Cerén of causing destruction during the civil war, of being responsible for assassinations and kidnappings, and criticized his support for Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

[5][14] The Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) ratified Sánchez Cerén's victory on 13 March 2014 and rejected ARENA's calls for a recount.

Sánchez Cerén was also the second former guerrilla to become the president of a Latin American country democratically after Uruguay's José Mujica in 2010.

[citation needed] From October 2016, his government and the FMLN defended a project of partial legalization of abortion (in case of rape or of danger for the life of the mother)[16] but have had to contend with the right-wing opposition which has blocked the reforms in parliament.

[17] In April 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to forbid the mining of metal on its territory, for environmental and public health reasons.

[20] On 22 July 2021, Salvadoran attorney general Rodolfo Delgado ordered Sánchez Cerén's arrest on charges of embezzlement, illicit enrichment, and money laundering up to $530,000.