The first woman to lead a Central American country, she served in the 1990s after the nation had been shaken by political strife.

Before the assassination of her husband, the editor of the only independent newspaper in Nicaragua, Violeta Chamorro was scarcely involved in politics. But as the country descended into revolution and civil war,

Latin America’s first elected female president won a surprise victory over Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega and demobilized army troops.