Rosario Murillo

Rosario Murillo
Murillo in 2017
Co-President of Nicaragua
Assumed office
18 February 2025
Serving with Daniel Ortega
Preceded byDaniel Ortega (as sole President)
Vice President of Nicaragua
In office
10 January 2017 – 18 February 2025
PresidentDaniel Ortega
Preceded byOmar Halleslevens
Succeeded byVacant
First Lady of Nicaragua
Current
Assumed role
10 January 2007
Serving with Daniel Ortega since 18 February 2025
PresidentDaniel Ortega
Preceded byLila T. Abaunza
In role
18 July 1979 – 25 April 1990
PresidentDaniel Ortega
Preceded byHope Portocarrero
Succeeded byCristiana Chamorro Barrios
Member of the National Assembly of Nicaragua
In office
4 November 1984 – 25 February 1990
Personal details
BornRosario María Murillo Zambrana
(1951-06-22) 22 June 1951
Managua, Nicaragua
PartyFSLN (1969-present)
Spouses
Jorge Narváez
(m. 1967; died 1968)
(m. 1968; div. 1972)
Carlos Vicente Ibarra
(m. 1973; div. 1977)
(m. 1979)
Children2 with Jorge Narváez, including Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo
1 with Moisés Hassan
7 with Daniel Ortega, including Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo
RelativesAugusto César Sandino (great uncle)
Xiomara Blandino (daughter-in-law)

Rosario María Murillo Zambrana (Latin American Spanish: [roˈsaɾjo muˈɾiʝo]; born 22 June 1951) is a Nicaraguan politician and poet who has been Co-president of Nicaragua alongside her husband, Daniel Ortega, since February 2025. Before this, she served as Vice-President of Nicaragua, the country's second-highest office, from 2017 to 2025, as First Lady of Nicaragua from 2007 to 2025 and from 1985 to 1990, she had been the wife of President Ortega. Some commentators, including the journalist Nahal Toosi and Nicaraguan opposition members, consider her and her husband as dictators over an authoritarian regime.

Murillo has variously served as the Nicaraguan government's lead spokesperson, government minister, head of the Sandinista Association of Cultural Workers, and Communications Coordinator of the Council on Communication and Citizenry. She was sworn in as Vice-President of Nicaragua on 10 January 2017.

The couple has eliminated political freedoms, repressed political opponents, and cemented powers in the hands of the executive. Since becoming Vice President in 2017, the ruling couple have increasingly purged and arrested long-standing loyalists of the regime to prevent a challenge to the ruling couple. In August 2021, she was personally sanctioned by the European Union over human rights violations.