Hugo Roger Martinez graduated as engineer at the University of El Salvador with a Master’s Degree in Engineering on Formation and Employment Systems from the University of Toulouse, France; Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Central American University “Doctor Jose Simeon Cañas ", El Salvador and Human Resources Administration at the Latin American University of Science and Technology, Costa Rica.
In addition, he completed Senior Management Programs at the Central American Institute on Business Administration, (INCAE, for its initials in Spanish) in Costa Rica, and the Central American University "Dr. Jose Simeon Cañas in El Salvador", as well as several internships on Specialization Knowledge on Political and Democratic Systems in the United States, Spain and Sweden. He has worked professionally in the Superior Council of the Central American University (CSUCA, for its initials in Spanish) as Director of External Cooperation of the University of El Salvador, and as a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador.
His parliamentary experience began in 1994 in the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador as a member of the legislative faction of the FMLN Party. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Education and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Central American Integration and Salvadorans Abroad Committee. With this experience, he also actively participated in the efforts of the Central American and the Caribbean Legislative Bodies Presidents’ Forum (FOPREL, for its initials in Spanish) and the World Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He assumed the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs on June 1, 2009, leading the El Salvador initiative to re-launch the Central American integration process, with the approval of all the Presidents of the isthmus. In 2010, he defined five work priority areas for the region: democratic security, comprehensive risk management and climate change, social inclusion and fight against poverty, economic integration and strengthening of regional institutionalism.
With this roadmap, during the second half of 2011, he also led several actions undertaken by the country under the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA, for its initials in Spanish), culminating with the celebration of the Consultative Group for Central American Reconstruction and Development, in December 2012, through which the region made visible to the international community the need to be supported in their efforts to adapt to climate change.
He received an award by the governments of Guatemala, Panama, Bolivia, Peru and Taiwan, as well as by the General Secretariat of SICA, for his efforts towards regional integration and strengthening bilateral relations. On June 27, 2013, he was elected Secretary General of SICA, during the XLI Summit of Heads of State and Government of SICA, for a period of four years. He took office on July 1, 2013.
On June 1, 2014 he once again took office as Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador as a Cabinet member of President Salvador Sánchez Cerén’s Administration.