Fidel Sánchez Hernández

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix = Brigadier General

| name = Fidel Sánchez Hernández

| image = Fidel Sánchez Hernández.jpg

| image_size =

| caption = Sánchez Hernández {{circa}} 1967–1972

| office = 70th President of El Salvador

| term_start = 1 July 1967

| term_end = 1 July 1972

| vicepresident = Humberto Guillermo Cuestas

| predecessor = Julio Adalberto Rivera

| successor = Arturo Armando Molina

| office1 = Minister of the Interior

| term_start1 = 1 July 1962

| term_end1 = 1 July 1967

| president1 = Julio Adalberto Rivera

| predecessor1 =

| successor1 = Francisco Armando Arias

| birth_date = 7 July 1917

| birth_place = El Divisadero, El Salvador

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2003|02|28|1917|07|07|df=y}}

| death_place = San Salvador, El Salvador

| party = National Conciliation Party

| spouse = Marina Uriarte

| children = 4

| parents = Vicente Sánchez Estrada
Teresa Hernández Echeverría

| occupation = Military, politician

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| signature_size =

| website =

| allegiance = {{flag|El Salvador}}

| branch = Salvadoran Army

| serviceyears =

| rank = General

| commands =

| battles = Football War

}}

Fidel Sánchez Hernández (7 July 1917 – 28 February 2003) was a Salvadoran military officer and politician who served as president of El Salvador from 1967 to 1972.{{Cite web |url=http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/pleno/representacion/por-grupos-parlamentarios/pcn/historia/gral.-fidel-sanchez-hernandez |title=Gral. Fidel Sánchez Hernández — Asamblea Legislativa |access-date=2017-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140826192504/http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/pleno/representacion/por-grupos-parlamentarios/pcn/historia/gral.-fidel-sanchez-hernandez |archive-date=2014-08-26 |url-status=dead }} During his rule, Sánchez Hernández faced war and economic turmoil.

Military career

Before becoming president, Sánchez Hernández was an army general in El Salvador and had brief stints as a military attaché in Washington D.C. (after his participation in the overthrow of José María Lemus in 1960) and in Paris. President Julio Adalberto Rivera promoted him to Minister of the Interior in 1962, and he served in that office until 1967, when he succeeded Rivera to the position of president.{{citation need|date=December 2023}}

Presidency

He continued Rivera's progressive programs and created a mostly civilian cabinet. The 1967 election was considered{{By whom|date=November 2014}} one of the few in the period of military domination to have been fairly conducted; the gains made by the opposition (winning a majority of the popular vote) in the legislative and local elections the following year suggested El Salvador was on the road to democratization, a trend that would not be continued as elections in the 1970s were blatantly rigged.{{According to whom|date=November 2014}}{{citation need|date=December 2023}}

In July 1969, Sánchez Hernández led the Salvadoran Army in its brief but violent Football War against Honduras. He had much success, occupying a large part of that country. But, under a cease-fire agreement arranged by the Organization of American States, Sánchez Hernández agreed to pull his troops out, much to the opposition of many of his military leaders.{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}

The war with Honduras led to much economic distress in El Salvador. Refugees, mostly Salvadorans that resided in Honduras, poured into the country and Honduras closed off trade routes.{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}

Sánchez Hernández remained president until 1972 and was succeeded by Colonel Arturo Armando Molina.{{Cite web|url=https://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/s/sanchez_hernandez.htm|title=Biografia de Fidel Sánchez Hernández|website=www.biografiasyvidas.com|language=es|access-date=2018-07-16}}

Death

On the night of 28 February 2003, Sánchez Hernández, aged 85, died of a heart attack while being taken to a military hospital in El Salvador.

Orders and decorations

The following is a list of orders and decorations awarded to Sánchez Hernández:{{cite web|url=http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/pleno/representacion/por-grupos-parlamentarios/pcn/historia/gral.-fidel-sanchez-hernandez|access-date=1 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131851/http://www.asamblea.gob.sv/pleno/representacion/por-grupos-parlamentarios/pcn/historia/gral.-fidel-sanchez-hernandez|archive-date=4 March 2016|title=Gral. Fidel Sánchez Hernández|language=es|website=asamblea.gob.sv|publisher=Legislative Assembly of El Salvador}}