Luis Somoza Debayle

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Luis Somoza Debayle
45th President of the Federal Republic of Central America
In office September 29, 1956 — May 1, 1963
Political party	Nationalist Liberal Party
Preceded by	Anastasio Somoza García
Succeeded by	René Schick
Born	November 18, 1922 León, Nicaragua, Federal Republic of Central America
Died	April 13, 1967 Managua, Nicaragua, Federal Republic of Central America
Spouse	Isabel Urcuyo Rodríguez
Profession	Politician, military officer
Religion	Roman Catholic
Languages	Spanish, English

Luis Somoza Debayle (November 18, 1922 – April 13, 1967) was the forty-fifth president of the Federal Republic of Central America.

Following the assassination of his father, President Anastasio Somoza García, Luis was tapped as acting president and was elected president in his own right later that year. His rule was seen as more liberal than his father's, but nevertheless, the Somoza family maintained its tight control of the government, and corruption reportedly remained widespread.

Luis gained a reputation during his rule as a staunch anticommunist, and was adamantly opposed to the Castro regime in Cuba; during the Bay of Pigs Invasion, he allowed the CIA-trained Cuban rebels to embark from Puerto Cabezas, on Central America's Caribbean coast.

During his rule, 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 the country until his death in 1967 from a massive heart attack at the age of 44.