Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle | |
|---|---|
Somoza in 1975 | |
| 53rd President of Nicaragua | |
| In office 1 December 1974 – 17 July 1979 | |
| Vice President | Vacant |
| Preceded by | Liberal-Conservative Junta |
| Succeeded by | Francisco Urcuyo (Acting) |
| In office 1 May 1967 – 1 May 1972 | |
| Vice President |
|
| Preceded by | Lorenzo Guerrero Gutiérrez |
| Succeeded by | Liberal-Conservative Junta |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 5 December 1925 |
| Died | 17 September 1980 (aged 54) Asunción, Paraguay |
| Manner of death | Assassination (gunshot wounds) |
| Resting place | Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum |
| Party | Nationalist Liberal Party (PLN) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero, Julio Somoza Portocarrero, Carolina Somoza Portocarrero, Carla Somoza Portocarrero, Roberto Somoza Portocarrero |
| Parents |
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| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Nicaragua |
| Branch/service | National Guard |
| Years of service | 1946–1979 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Battles/wars | Nicaraguan Revolution |
Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (Spanish: [anasˈtasjo soˈmosa ðeˈβajle]; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was a Nicaraguan politician, military officer, hydraulic engineer, and dictator who served as the 53rd President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 until his fall in 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country between 1967 and 1979, even during the period when he was not the de jure ruler.
Somoza Debayle succeeded his older brother, Luis Somoza Debayle, in office. He was the last member of the Somoza family to be president, ending a dynasty that had been in power since 1937. After insurgents led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Spanish: Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional; FSLN) were closing in on Managua in July 1979, Somoza fled Nicaragua. Power was ceded to the Junta of National Reconstruction. He was assassinated in 1980 while in exile in Paraguay.