Anastasio Somoza García

Anastasio Somoza García (1896-1956), Nicaraguan general and president (1937-47, 1950-56), who formed a dynasty of dictators that, with U.S. support, ruled the country for 43 years. He was born in San Marcos and educated in the United States. Entering politics, he became an important member of the Liberal Party, but his real base of power was the U.S.-trained National Guard, created in the 1920s, which he headed after 1933. Seizing power in 1936, he subsequently assumed the presidency and for the next 20 years ruled the country as a dictator, although he placed puppets in office for three years. While relying on the National Guard to retain power, he distributed government jobs to quiet Conservative opposition. Somoza amassed an enormous personal fortune, but he was not insensitive to social and economic progress and greatly increased Nicaragua's exports. Assassinated in 1956, he was succeeded by his elder son, Luis Somoza Debayle. See also Sandino, Augusto César.