José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is the current President of Nicaragua. For much of his life, he has been an important leader in the Sandinista National Liberation Front .

After a popular rebellion resulted in the overthrow and exile of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979, Ortega became a member of the ruling multipartisan junta and was later elected president, serving from 1985 to 1990. His first period in office was characterized by a controversial program of land reform and wealth redistribution, hostility from the United States, and armed rebellion by U.S.-backed Contras.