Francisco Altschul

The Honorable Francisco Roberto Altschul Fuentes was appointed Ambassador of El Salvador to the United States in 2014, having previously served in that position from 2010 to 2011. Before beginning his diplomatic career, Altschul had a distinguished career in development and urban planning, serving from 2003 to 2007 as executive president of Sistema de asesoría y capitación para el desarrollo local (SACDEL), a non-governmental organization that promotes local development projects. He is also the founder and president of Eco Desarrollo, a private agricultural company that practices and promotes organic agriculture in El Salvador. In 1997 Altschul was named councilor for the city of San Salvador, heading the Urban Development Commission where he oversaw projects to rescue the historic downtown and to handle solid waste management in the city. During the 1980’s, he represented the political interests of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (FDR) and Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in their diplomatic committee in the United States. During the 1970’s, he worked for various NGOs and government agencies such as the Salvadoran Foundation for Development and Minimum Housing (FUNDASAL), the Hydroelectric Executive Committee of the Río Lempa (CEL) and the Ministry of Planning. Ambassador Altschul has a degree in Architecture from the University of El Salvador. He also studied Housing, Planning, and Urban Development at the International Education Center of Bouwcentrum, Netherlands, as well as in the Institute for Economic Development at the World Bank in Washington, D.C.