Co-presidents of Nicaragua
| Co-Presidents of the Republic of Nicaragua | |
|---|---|
| Copresidentes de la República de Nicaragua | |
 Coat of arms of Nicaragua | |
since 10 January 2007 (Ortega) since 18 February 2025 (Murillo) | |
| Status | Head of state Head of government |
| Residence | Casa Naranja |
| Seat | Managua |
| Term length | Six years renewable indefinitely |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Nicaragua |
| Precursor | Supreme Director of Nicaragua |
| Formation | April 30, 1854 |
| First holder | Fruto Chamorro |
| Deputy | Vice President of Nicaragua |
| Salary | 116,768 Nicaraguan córdobas/US$3,193 per month[1][2] |
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 Nicaragua portal |
The Co-presidents of Nicaragua (Spanish: Co-presidentes de Nicaragua), officially known as the Presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua (Spanish: Presidencia de la República de Nicaragua), are the dual head of state and government of Nicaragua.
The office was first created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until the Constitution of 1839, the head of state of Nicaragua was simply styled as Head of State (Jefe de Estado), and from 1839 to 1854 as Supreme Director (Supremo Director).
In 2025, the Constitution of Nicaragua was amended to allow the powers of the presidency to be exercised by two co-presidents rather than a single person. A male and female co-president are elected by universal suffrage to a six-year term. When the amendment was passed, incumbent president Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice-president Rosario Murillo were declared inaugural co-presidents, making Nicaragua the only country in the world currently ruled by a spousal diarchy. Ortega had previously served as president since 2007.[3]
Constitutional basis
[edit]In 2009, the Supreme Court of Nicaragua ruled that the constitutional ban on immediate reelection was unenforceable.[4] In 2014, the National Assembly amended the constitution to allow the President to run for an unlimited number of five-year terms.[5]
In 2025, the assembly extended the presidential term to six years and declared incumbent president Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, co-presidents.[6] The revised constitution provides for the powers of the presidency to be exercised by a male and female co-president elected by universal suffrage. Candidates for election must have resided in Nicaragua for at least six years prior to the election, must hold only Nicaraguan nationality, and must not have been declared "traitors to the homeland" (Spanish: traidores a la patria). The qualifications effectively disqualified leading opposition candidates from standing for election, as they had been exiled and stripped of their citizenship in February 2023.[7]
Heads of state of Nicaragua
[edit]See List of heads of state of Nicaragua
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Shocking Gap Between Latin America's Presidential Salaries and Workers Minimum Wage". Latin Post. 22 June 2017.
- ^ "Proponen reducir salario de otros cargos públicos nicaragüenses – LVDS". La Voz del Sandinismo (in Spanish). 26 January 2007.
- ^ "Nicaragua's Ortega takes office", BBC News, 11 January 2007.
- ^ "Nicaragua court backs re-election". BBC News. 20 October 2009.
- ^ "Nicaragua: Ortega allowed to run for third successive term". BBC News. 29 January 2014.
- ^ "Nicaragua makes Daniel Ortega and his wife Murillo 'Copresidents,' fueling democratic rebuke". AP News. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025.
- ^ "Nicaragua establece la figura de «copresidenta» y amplía a 6 años el período presidencial" (in Spanish). SWI swissinfo. 29 January 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.