Violeta Barrios de Chamorro
| Violeta Chamorro | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| President of Nicaragua | |
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In office 25 April 1990 – 10 January 1997 |
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| Vice President |
Virgilio Godoy Julia Mena |
| Preceded by | Daniel Ortega |
| Succeeded by | Arnoldo Alemán |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
18 October 1929 Rivas, Nicaragua |
| Political party | Democratic Union of Liberation |
| Other political affiliations |
National Opposition Union |
| Spouse(s) | Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal |
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Presidential styles of Violeta Chamorro |
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|---|---|
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| Reference style | La Honorable Violeta Chamorro, Presidenta de la República de Nicaragua The Honorable Violeta Chamorro, President of the Republic of Nicaragua |
| Spoken style | Presidenta Chamorro President Chamorro |
| Alternative style | Señora Presidente Madam President |
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (born 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician, former president and publisher, known for ending the Contra War, the final chapter of the Nicaraguan Revolution, and bringing peace to the country. She was the first and, to date, only woman to hold the position of president in Nicaragua.
Born into a landed family in southern Nicaragua, Chamorro was partially educated in the United States. After returning to her home country, she married and raised a family. Her husband, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, was a journalist working at his family's newspaper, La Prensa, which he later inherited. As a result of his anti-government stance, he was often jailed or exiled, forcing Chamorro to spend a decade following him abroad or visiting him in jail. When he was assassinated in 1978, Chamorro took over the newspaper. Pedro's murder sparked the Nicaraguan Revolution and his image, as wielded by his widow, became a powerful symbol for the opposition forces. Initially, when the Sandinistas were victorious over Anastasio Somoza García, Chamorro fully supported them. She agreed to become part of the provisional government established under the Junta of National Reconstruction (Spanish: Junta de Gobierno de Reconstrucción Nacional, JGRN); however, when the Junta began moving in a more radical direction and signed agreements with the Soviet Union, Chamorro resigned and returned to the newspaper.
Under her direction, La Prensa continued to criticize the government and its policies despite threats and government-forced shutdowns. When Daniel Ortega announced that elections would be held in 1990, Chamorro was selected as the candidate for the opposition group known as the National Opposition Union (Spanish: Unión Nacional Opositora, UNO). This 14-party alliance ranged from conservatives and liberals to communists and because of idealistic differences had difficulty in devising any political platform other than a promise to end the war. Despite polls indicating a victory for the incumbent Sandinista President Ortega, Chamorro won the election on 25 February 1990, becoming the first elected female head of state in the Americas.
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