Before the assassination of her husband, the editor of the only independent newspaper in Nicaragua, Violeta Chamorro was scarcely involved in politics. But as the country descended into revolution and civil war,

Latin America’s first elected female president won a surprise victory over Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega and demobilized army troops.

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, an unlikely leader whose rise was fueled by her husband's murder, championed regional development and peace after years of civil war.