16 Facts About Alfredo Cristiani

Alfredo Felix Cristiani Burkard was born on 22 November 1947 and is a Salvadoran politician who was President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994.

Alfredo Cristiani was educated at the 'Escuela Americana' in San Salvador and Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where he graduated with a degree in Business Administration.

Alfredo Cristiani returned to El Salvador to work for the family business, which included pharmaceuticals, coffee, cotton and until July 2008 the Semillas Cristiani Burkard the Central American Monsanto Company representative, leading corn seed company focused on hybrid corn production.

Alfredo Cristiani married Margarita Llach in 1970, and has three children and nine grandchildren.

Alfredo Cristiani remained generally outside politics until the beginning of the 1980s when the armed conflict in El Salvador reached a critical point.

Alfredo Cristiani's swearing-in marked the beginning of a 20-year period of ARENA presidencies, and marked only the second time in El Salvador's history that the ruling party peacefully surrendered power to the opposition.

Alfredo Cristiani was the principal guest at a dinner held in his honour by the Western Goals Institute at Simpsons-in-the-Strand, London, on 25 September 1989.

Alfredo Cristiani was successful in the peace negotiations with the FMLN.

Alfredo Cristiani's murder has been attributed to an urban commando of the FMLN.

Alfredo Cristiani is known for having started structural adjustment programs, following a strong neoliberal approach.

Alfredo Cristiani is responsible for the privatization of Hotel Presidente.

Alfredo Cristiani's government supported a unilateral reduction of Salvadoran trade barriers, the introduction of the Value Added Tax, and the elimination of other direct taxes.

Alfredo Cristiani retired from politics in 1994 when his presidential term ended, and returned as president of the ARENA party in 2009 after the first presidential defeat of ARENA in twenty years.

However, the court did not have enough evidence to convict Alfredo Cristiani for encouraging the crime.

Alfredo Cristiani had created at least 16 offshore companies in the year following his departure from power.

In June 2023, Alfredo Cristiani's properties were raided and seized by the office of the attorney general as a part of a "war on corruption".