Luis Somoza Debayle

President Luis Somoza
Nicaraguan Postage, 1957

Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle (18 November 1922  – 13 April 1967) was the 70th 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. Attended LSU.

Following the assassination of his father, Anastasio Somoza García, Luis was tapped as acting president and was elected president in his own right later that year. His rule was somewhat milder than that of his father. He blocked reelections for a second term for fairness to others. However, civil liberties remained restricted and corruption remained widespread.

His brother, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, headed the National Guard and was the second most powerful man in the country during his older brother's rule. Using his position as head of the Guard, he saw to it that the presidency was held from 1963 onward by politicians loyal to his family. As a result, Luis remained the real power in Nicaragua until his death in 1967 from a massive heart attack at the age of 45 in Managua.

Under Luis Somoza's regime, Nicaragua was a key player in the ushering of the creation of the Central American Common Market, with the Alliance for Progress backing that common market's creation. During the Bay of Pigs Invasion, he allowed the CIA-trained Cuban rebels to embark from Puerto Cabezas, on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. The Sandinistas began their struggle against the government in 1963--a struggle that would topple his brother in 1979.

He died in Managua and is entombed at Cementerio Occidental with his father in the National Guard Mausoleum in Managua, Nicaragua.

He was a member of Fi Sigma Alfa Fraternity.^[1]

v • d • e Presidents and heads of state of Nicaragua Fruto Chamorro · Francisco Castellón1 · Nazario Escoto1 · José María Estrada · Patricio Rivas · William Walker · Patricio Rivas · Tomás Martínez and Máximo Jerez Junta · Fernando Guzmán · José Vicente Cuadra · Pedro Joaquín Chamorro · Joaquín Zavala · Adán Cárdenas · Evaristo Carazo · Nicolás Osorno · Roberto Sacasa · Ignacio Chávez · Roberto Sacasa · Junta · Salvador Machado · Joaquín Zavala · José Santos Zelaya · José Madriz · José Dolores Estrada · Luis Mena · Juan José Estrada · Adolfo Díaz · Emiliano Chamorro · Diego Manuel Chamorro · Rosendo Chamorro · Bartolomé Martínez · Carlos José Solórzano · Emiliano Chamorro · Sebastián Uriza · Adolfo Díaz · José María Moncada · Juan Bautista Sacasa · Carlos Alberto Brenes · Anastasio Somoza García · Leonardo Argüello · Benjamín Lacayo · Víctor Manuel Román · Manuel Fernando Zurita · Anastasio Somoza García · Luis Somoza · René Schick · Orlando Montenegro · Lorenzo Guerrero · Anastasio Somoza Debayle · Liberal-Conservative Junta · Anastasio Somoza Debayle · Francisco Urcuyo · Junta of National Reconstruction · Daniel Ortega · Violeta Chamorro · Arnoldo Alemán · Enrique Bolaños · Daniel Ortega 1 in León.

Footnotes

This article about a Nicaraguan politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e