Chamorro, Violeta Barrios de

Chamorro, Violeta Barrios de (vē'əlĕt` bâr`yōs thā chämō`rō), 1929–, president of Nicaragua (1990–97). Widow of martyred newspaper editor Joaquim Chamorro, she briefly joined the ruling Sandinista junta following the 1979 revolution. Opposed to the direction of the revolution, she resigned and converted the Chamorro family newspaper, La Prensa, into a major opposition organ. She was elected president in an upset victory (1990), becoming the first woman to govern a Central American nation. In office, she instituted a program of national reconciliation, brought an end to the U.S.-backed Contra war, and ended Sandinista control of the military.