(c. 1939-) President of Nicaragua from 1990. With strong US support, she was elected to be the candidate for the National Opposition Union (UNO) 1989, winning the presidency from David Ortega Saavedra Feb 1990 and thus ending the period of Sandinista rule.
Chamorro's political career began 1978 with the assassination by the right-wing dictatorship of her husband, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro. Violeta became candidate for UNO, a 14-party coalition, Sept 1989. In the 1990 elections, UNO won 51 of the 92 seats in the National Assembly. The Sandinista Liberation Front (FSLN), however, remained the largest party, and together with reactionary elements within Chamorro's own coalition, obstructed the implementation of her policies. Her early presidency was marked by rising unemployment, strikes, and continuing skirmishes between Contra rebels and Sandinista militants in the mountains (despite official disbanding of the Contras June 1990). A peace accord was reached with the rebels