Rosario Murillo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rosario Murillo
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Murillo in 2024
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| Co-President of Nicaragua | |
| Assumed office 18 February 2025 Serving with Daniel Ortega
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| Preceded by | Daniel Ortega (as sole President) |
| Vice President of Nicaragua | |
| In office 10 January 2017 – 18 February 2025 |
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| President | Daniel Ortega |
| Preceded by | Omar Halleslevens |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Member of the National Assembly of Nicaragua | |
| In office 4 November 1984 – 25 February 1990 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rosario María Murillo Zambrana
22 June 1951 Managua, Nicaragua |
| Political party | FSLN |
| Spouses |
Jorge Narváez
(m. 1967; Moisés Hassan
(m. 1968; div. 1972)Carlos Vicente Ibarra
(m. 1973; div. 1977) |
| Children | 2 with Jorge Narváez, including Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo 1 with Moisés Hassan 7 with Daniel Ortega, including Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo |
| Relatives | Augusto César Sandino (great uncle) Xiomara Blandino (daughter-in-law) |
Rosario María Murillo Zambrana (born on June 22, 1951) is a politician and poet from Nicaragua. She is currently serving as co-president of Nicaragua alongside her husband, President Daniel Ortega. She took on this role in February 2025.
Before becoming co-president, she was the vice president of Nicaragua from 2017 to 2025. This is the second-highest position in the country. She also served as the first lady of Nicaragua from 2007 to 2025, and earlier from 1985 to 1990, because she is married to President Ortega. Murillo has also been a main spokesperson for the Nicaraguan government. She has worked as a government minister and led cultural worker groups. She was sworn in as vice president on January 10, 2017. Some international groups, like the U.S. Department of State and the Organization of American States, have described her and her husband's government as having very strong control.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Rosario Murillo was born in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. Her father, Teódulo Murillo Molina, was involved in farming. Her mother, Zoilamérica Zambrana Sandino, was related to a famous Nicaraguan general, Augusto César Sandino. General Sandino was known for fighting against foreign occupation in Nicaragua.
Murillo went to school at Colegio Teresiano in Managua, which was a Catholic school for girls. She also studied in Great Britain at Greenway Convent Collegiate School. Later, she studied art in Switzerland at the Institut Anglo-Suisse Le Manoir. She has special certificates in English and French language from the University of Cambridge. She also attended the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua in her hometown.
Joining the Sandinista Front
Murillo became a member of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1969. This group was a political movement in Nicaragua. She helped the Sandinista fighters by letting them use her house in Managua as a safe place. One of the founders of the FSLN, Tomás Borge, stayed there.
In the early 1970s, Murillo worked as a secretary for a newspaper called La Prensa. She worked for important political and literary figures there. In 1976, she was arrested for her political activities. After that, she left Nicaragua and lived in Panama and Venezuela for a few months. She then moved to Costa Rica, where she focused on her political work with the FSLN. She helped start Radio Sandino, a radio station for the group. It was in Costa Rica that she met Daniel Ortega, who would later become her husband. When the Sandinistas took power in 1979, she returned to Nicaragua. Murillo and Ortega officially married in 2005.
Political Career and Vice Presidency
Rosario Murillo began to gain more political influence in the late 1990s. Daniel Ortega was elected president in 2006 and again in 2011. In the 2016 election, Murillo ran as Ortega's candidate for vice-president. Many people saw her as a very powerful figure behind the presidency.
She became Vice President on January 10, 2017. During her time as vice president, there were a series of protests in Nicaragua. These events led to many deaths. In November 2018, the United States placed sanctions on Murillo and a presidential aide. This meant certain restrictions were put in place against them.
Co-President of Nicaragua (2025–Present)
On November 20, 2024, President Ortega suggested changes to Nicaragua's constitution. These changes would make his term longer, from five years to six. They also proposed that Rosario Murillo be declared co-president. The country's National Assembly approved these changes in two readings. The new constitutional rules officially started on February 18, 2025. Since then, Rosario Murillo has been serving as co-president of Nicaragua.
Personal Life
Rosario Murillo has eight children with Daniel Ortega. Besides her native Spanish, she can speak English, Italian, and French. She can also read German. Murillo is a Catholic and is known for her strong devotion to the Virgin Mary. She also has an interest in New Age beliefs and practices.
Published Works
- Gualtayán (1975)
- Sube a nacer conmigo (1977)
- Un deber de cantar (1981)
- Amar es combatir (antología) (1982)
- En espléndidas ciudades (1985)
- Las esperanzas misteriosas (1990)
- Angel in the deluge (1992) translated from the Spanish by Alejandro Murguía. ISBN: 0-87286-274-7
See also
In Spanish: Rosario Murillo para niños
