Daniel Ortega

José Daniel Ortega Saavedra, born November 11, 1945, is a Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician who has led Nicaragua since 2007, following an earlier tenure from 1979 to 1990. He was a leading figure of the Sandinista National Liberation Front's 1979 overthrow of the US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, serving as coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 1979 to 1985 and then as president from 1985 to 1990, a period marked by nationalization, land reform and literacy programs alongside forced displacement of indigenous communities and conflict with US-backed rebels. After losing the 1990 election to Violeta Chamorro, he spent seventeen years in opposition while retaining FSLN leadership and moderating from Marxist-Leninism, then returned to the presidency in 2007 and has held it since, consolidating control over state institutions. Since a February 2025 constitutional amendment extending presidential terms and creating a co-presidency, he has governed alongside his wife, co-president Rosario Murillo.