Carmen Milena Mayorga Valera (born 22 April 1976) is a Salvadoran diplomat, politician, journalist, and former model. Since 1 December 2020, she has served as Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States, having been appointed by President

Nayib Bukele Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez (; born 24 July 1981) is a Salvadoran politician and businessman who has served as the 81st president of El Salvador since 2019. In 1999, Bukele established an advertising company and worked at an advertising com ...

. She was previously a member of the

Legislative Assembly of El Salvador The Legislative Assembly () is the legislative branch of the government of El Salvador. History The organization was founded in 1824 as the Central American Congress (). Structure The Salvadoran legislature is a unicameral body. Until ...

from the

San Salvador Department San Salvador () is a department of El Salvador in the west central part of the country. The capital is San Salvador, which is also the national capital. The department has North of the Rio Lempa Valley, the "Valle de las Hamacas" (Hammock Valle ...

from 2018 to 2020. Mayorga is a retired model and beauty pageant contestant who represented

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

Miss Universe 1996 Miss Universe 1996 was the 45th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Zappos Theater, Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on 17 May 1996. This was the last time that the Miss Universe was run by ITT Inc., ITT ...

, where she finished in the top ten. Prior to entering politics, she was a journalist and news presenter. She was formerly a member of the

Nationalist Republican Alliance The Nationalist Republican Alliance (, abbreviated ARENA) is a conservative, center-right to right-wing political party of El Salvador. It was founded on 30 September 1981 by retired Salvadoran Army Major Roberto D'Aubuisson. It defines itse ...

(ARENA) until renouncing her membership in 2020.

Early life and modeling career

Carmen Milena Mayorga Valera was born on 22 April 1976 in

San Salvador San Salvador () is the Capital city, capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its San Salvador Department, eponymous department. It is the country's largest agglomeration, serving as the country's political, cultural, educational and fin ...

to a doctor and a Venezuelan mother. After graduating high school, Mayorga became a model for Willie Maldonado in the longest-running TV show in El Salvador, ''Fin de Semana''. Mayorga won Miss El Salvador 1996, and competed at

, reaching the Top 10, being the 4th Salvadorian woman to be in the top at Miss Universe, and being the last Salvadoran to make the top for Miss Universe until Isabella García-Manzo managed to enter the Top 10 of

Miss Universe 2023 Miss Universe 2023 was the 72nd Miss Universe pageant, held at the Gimnasio Nacional José Adolfo Pineda in San Salvador, El Salvador, on 18 November 2023. At the conclusion of the event, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua was crowned as Miss U ...

. Mayorga became the first Central American to have a Back To Back classification at Miss Universe. After Miss Universe, Mayorga went on to be a news presenter for Teledos of the

Telecorporación Salvadoreña Telecorporación Salvadoreña (TCS) is a television network corporation in El Salvador. Telecorporación Salvadoreña is a group of local television stations formed by channels 2, 4, 6, and TCS+. (channel 35) TCS launched began transmissions on c ...

from 1999 to 2005. In June 2005, she joined rival channel Canal 12 and became part of a new group of presenters on El Salvador's longest running morning show, ''Hola El Salvador''. In 2011, Mayorga became conductor of her own talk show, ''Milena tu amiga'' on Canal 12.

Political career

Legislative Assembly (2018–2020)

Mayorga was elected to the

for the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

as a member of the

(ARENA). However, on 4 June 2020, she renounced her party membership, accusing the party's leadership of corruption. As a legislator, in relation to corruption, Mayorga supported the creation of the Permanent Commission against Corruption, the creation of the International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador, and a law for the repatriation of stolen or evaded capital. In 2020, she voted in favor of all the proposals by the government of

in terms of loans, fiscal measures, and health measures related to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Ambassador to the United States (2020–present)

She became the ambassador to the United States on 1 December 2020. In regard to foreign relations, she supported the creation of a special commission to monitor the situation of Salvadorans residing in the United States before the termination of

Temporary Protected Status Temporary protected status (TPS) is given by the United States government to eligible nationals of designated countries, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who are present in the United States. In general, the Secretary of Hom ...

, a law for the exercise of the vote from abroad in the

2021 Salvadoran legislative election Legislative elections were held in El Salvador on 18 February 2021. Salvadorans elected all 84 deputies of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador, Legislative Assembly, all 262 mayors of municipal councils of the country's Municipalities of El ...

, reform of the migration and immigration legislation, and ratification of the

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayorga, Milena 1976 births 21st-century Salvadoran women politicians 21st-century Salvadoran politicians Ambassadors of El Salvador to the United States Living people Members of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador Miss Universe 1996 contestants Nationalist Republican Alliance politicians People from San Salvador Salvadoran beauty pageant winners Salvadoran people of Venezuelan descent Salvadoran women ambassadors Tulane University alumni