Somoza
Encyclopedia
The Somoza family was an influential political dynasty who ruled Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

 as an hereditary dictatorship. Their influence exceeded their combined 43 years in the de facto presidency, as they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard
National Guard (Nicaragua)
In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...

. They ultimately fell to a revolution led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...

.

Three of the Somozas served as President of Nicaragua
President of Nicaragua
The position of President of Nicaragua was created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until the Constitution of 1838 the title of the position was known as Head of State and from 1838 to 1854 as Supreme Director .-Heads of State of Nicaragua within the Federal Republic of Central America...

. They were:
  • Anastasio Somoza García
    Anastasio Somoza García
    Anastasio Somoza García was officially the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.-Biography:Somoza was born in San Marcos, Carazo Department in Nicaragua, the son of...

     (1896–1956; ruled 1937–1947, 1950–1956), the father.
  • Luis Somoza Debayle
    Luis Somoza Debayle
    Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the President of Nicaragua from 29 September 1956 to 1 May 1963, but was effectively dictator of the country from 1956 until his death. He was born in León.Luis was educated at LSU...

     (1922–1967, ruled 1956–1963), his legitimate eldest son.
  • Anastasio Somoza Debayle
    Anastasio Somoza Debayle
    Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...

     (1925–1980, ruled 1967–1972, 1974–1979), his second legitimate son.


Other members of the Somoza family include:
  • Hope Portocarrero
    Hope Portocarrero
    Hope Portocarrero Somoza Baldocchi was the first lady of Nicaragua, the wife of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and mother of Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero.She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1968....

    , wife of Anastasio Somoza Debayle
  • Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero
    Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero
    Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero is a son of former Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza Debayle and Hope Portocarrero de Somoza. Also known as El Chigüín—"daddy's kid"—Somoza Portocarrero had been the heir apparent to the Somoza dynasty prior to the ouster of his father by the...

    , son of Anastasio Somoza Debayle
  • Bernabé Somoza, a 19th-century rebel
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