Violeta Barrios de Chamorro
President, Nicaragua, 1990 - 1997

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was the first and only female president of Nicaragua, and the first Latin American woman elected to office in a democratic election. Chamorro was involved in the Sandinista revolution in 1979, and after nearly a decade of civil war and economic sanctions, Chamorro was chosen as the presidential candidate of the National Opposition Union, a coalition that ran against and defeated the Sandinistas and then-President, Daniel Ortega. Although the alliance broke up after the election, Chamorro brought peace to Nicaragua, worked to strengthen political institutions, and instituted a number of military and economic reforms. After her term ended, Chamorro left politics and now lives at home in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua.