Pío Romero Bosque
Pío Romero Bosque | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Romero in 1927 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 53rd President of El Salvador | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 March 1927 – 1 March 1931 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vice President | Gustavo Vides | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alfonso Quiñónez Molina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Arturo Araujo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29th Vice President of El Salvador | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 March 1923 – 1 March 1927 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Alfonso Quiñónez Molina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Alfonso Quiñónez Molina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Gustavo Vides | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1860 Suchitoto, El Salvador | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 10 December 1935 (aged 74–75) Nicaragua | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | National Democratic Party (until 1927) Independent (from 1927) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Amparo Molina (m. 1891) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Alfonso Quiñónez Molina (brother-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | University of El Salvador | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician, judge, lawyer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pío Romero Bosque (1860 – 10 December 1935), contemporarily referred to as Don Pío, was a Salvadoran politician and lawyer who served as President of El Salvador from 1927 to 1931. He had previously served as Alfonso Quiñónez Molina's Vice President from 1923 to 1927 and as El Salvador's Minister of War, the Navy, and Aviation (Minister of War) from 1919 to 1927.
Romero completed his Doctor of Law in 1889 and was shortly afterwards appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice to serve as a judge. He served as a judge in San Salvador and Zacatecoluca during the 1890s and 1900s and also served as a magistrate on the Supreme Court of Justice itself from 1893 to 1895 and again from 1899 to 1903. He also briefly served as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly from 1892 to 1893 before resigning to serve on the Supreme Court of Justice. From 1903 to 1907, Romero served as the Minister of Governance, Development, and Public Instruction under President Pedro José Escalón. From 1914 to 1919, he served as the president of the Supreme Court of Justice.
Romero became President of El Salvador in 1927. El Salvador's economy early in Romero's government benefited from high coffee prices and taxation reforms, but the Great Depression and the collapse of coffee prices crippled El Salvador's economy as it was heavily dependent on coffee exports. Romero distanced himself from the Meléndez–Quiñónez dynasty that preceded him and implemented various democratic reforms. Romero's government survived an attempted coup by supporters of the Meléndez–Quiñónez political dynasty in December 1927. Romero did not hand-pick a presidential successor as his predecessors had done and was succeeded by Arturo Araujo who won the 1931 presidential election, considered by historians to be El Salvador's first free and fair democratic election. Romero fled El Salvador during the presidency of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, whose government reversed all of Romero's democratic reforms after overthrowing Araujo in late 1931. Romero died in exile in Nicaragua in 1935.