José María Lemus

Lieutenant Colonel
José María Lemus
Lieutenant Colonel José María Lemus
30th President of El Salvador
	In office; 14 September 1956 – 26 October 1960
Vice President	Humberto Costa
Preceded by	Óscar Osorio
Succeeded by	Junta of Government; Eusebio Cordón Cea as President
Personal details
Born	22 July 1911; La Unión, El Salvador
Died	31 March 1993 (aged 81); San José, Costa Rica
Political party	Revolutionary Party of Democratic Unification
Spouse	Coralia Párraga de Lemus
Children	7
Occupation	Politician, military
Military service
Allegiance	El Salvador
Branch/service	Salvadoran Army
Years of service	1933–1960
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant Colonel José María Lemus López (22 July 1911 – 31 March 1993) was president of El Salvador from 14 September 1956 to 26 October 1960. Before becoming a president, he served as an undersecretary of defense and a minister of the interior.^[1]

Life and career

He was born into a family of humble beginnings in La Unión, El Salvador. He was undersecretary of defense from 1948-1949. As President Óscar Osorio's choice for the successor to presidency, he antagonized many by fighting against corruption.^[2] Having won the disputed election of 1956, he appointed prominent civilians into his government and allowed many exiles to return the country.^{[citation needed]}

He was a member of the Party of Democratic Unification. He continued socio-economic reforms of his predecessor, but there was no improvement in the living standards of the working class.^[3] He promulgated the Tenant Law, which protects the rights of the renters of houses or "Mesones, called also Vecindades" (apartment units with shared bathrooms).^{[citation needed]} The law stipulating that landlords cannot increase the rent more than 10% every year made rent contract in houses obligatory with the objective of protecting the renter.^{[citation needed]}

His government repealed the anti-sedition laws, therefore antagonizing the military. His government's decision to control the production of coffee infuriated the public. Soon after the Cuban revolution, there were widespread student protests. There was a subsequent roundup of dissidents and protesters.^[4]

Overthrow and death

Following these uncertainties, he was overthrown in a bloodless coup and a new, short-lived Junta government was formed consisting of three military (Miguel Ángel Castillo, César Yanes Urías, Rubén Alonso Rosales) and three civilian (Ricardo Falla Cáceres, Fabio Castillo Figueroa, Rene Fortín Magaña).^{[citation needed]}

After his exile, he lived in New York City until his death in San Jose, Costa Rica. He died of Hodgkin's lymphoma, leaving behind a wife and eight children.^{[citation needed]}

References

"Terra España - Noticias, deportes, música, moda y más". Terra.es. Retrieved 25 March 2017.

Political offices
Preceded by Óscar Osorio	President of El Salvador 1956–1960	Succeeded by Military Junta

[1] "Lemus, José María (1911–1993) | Encyclopedia.com".

[2] "Lemus, José María (1911–1993) | Encyclopedia.com".

[3] "El Salvador - Military dictatorships".

[4] "Lemus, José María (1911–1993) | Encyclopedia.com".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Heads of state of El Salvador
Post-independence (1821–1823)	Barriere Delgado Filísola Codallos Consultive Junta^‡ Prado^†
Federal Republic of Central America (1823–1841)	J. Rodríguez Prado J. V. Villacorta Prado Cornejo J. D. Villacorta Cornejo Morazán^† J. San Martín Prado J. San Martín C. Salazar^† G. Salazar^† Escolán^† Silva Espinoza F. Gómez Vigil T. Menéndez Vigil T. Menéndez Cañas^† Morazán Silva^† Cañas^† Ramírez^† Lindo^†
Republic of El Salvador (1841–1931)	Lindo^† Arce^† Marín^† J. J. Guzmán D. Villacorta^† Marín^† J. J. Guzmán Arce^† Palacios^† Malespín Palacios^† J. E. Guzmán Palacios^† Aguilar Palacios^† Aguilar Medina^† Quirós^† Vasconcelos R. Rodríguez^† Vasconcelos Dueñas^† Quirós^† Dueñas J. M. San Martín^† Dueñas V. Gómez^† J. M. San Martín J. Hernández^† J. M. San Martín Dueñas^† Campo Dueñas^† Campo Zepeda^† Santín Barrios^† Santín J. E. Guzmán^† Peralta^† Barrios Dueñas González Méndez^† González del Valle Zaldívar Guirola^† Zaldívar Figueroa^† Rosales^† F. Menéndez C. Ezeta A. Ezeta^† Gutiérrez Regalado Escalón Figueroa M. Araujo C. Meléndez^† Quiñónez^† C. Meléndez Quiñónez^† J. Meléndez Quiñónez P. Romero A. Araujo
Military presidents (1931–1979)	Civic Directory^‡ Hernández Martínez^† A. Menéndez^† Hernández Martínez A. Menéndez^† Aguirre^† Castaneda Revolutionary Council of Government^‡ Osorio Lemus Junta of Government^‡ Civic-Military Directory^‡ Cordón^† Rivera F. Sánchez A. Molina C. Romero
Salvadoran Civil War (1979–1992)	Revolutionary Government Junta^‡ Magaña Duarte Cristiani
Post-Civil War (since 1992)	Cristiani Calderón Flores Saca Funes S. Sánchez Bukele C. Rodríguez^†
^† – Acting or provisional president ^‡ – Military junta

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