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His government repealed the anti-sedition laws, therefore antagonizing the military.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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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(1993-03-31) (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