In 1880, due to liberal laws that encouraged immigration and the handing over of land for coffee cultivation, many Swiss came to the country seeing these opportunities.

In the following years, Switzerland signed agreements with El Salvador; for a commercial coalition, mainly the export of coffee, this attracted many more Swiss.

[2][3] The majority of Swiss that arrived to El Salvador originated from the canton of St. Gallen, with a few others coming from Bern and Jura.

The latter became involved in the civil war between the left-wing guerrilla and the army in the late 1970s, The assassination of Hugo Wey, Chargé d'Affaires in San Salvador, led to the closure of the embassy in 1979, until in 1982 the federal government reopened a representation in the form of a consular agency (since 1997 honorary consulate general).

Aeschbacker, Anliker, Arnold, Barem, Bolens, Bolliat, Burkard, Casati, Dürler, Egli, Escher, Euchner, Fickewirth, Forrer, Haltmayer, Heinzelmann, Hemmeler, Herger, Hirlemann, Homberger, Hugentobler, Iseli, Kurz, Langenegger, Langner, Merz, Oberholzer, Roshardt, Rutz, Salomon (Jewish origin), Sickhard, Scheidegger, Schildknecht, Schlageter, Schürmann, Spranger, Stoffel, Sutter, Trachsler, Weiser, Wuntz, Zimmermann, Zoller, etc.