American Marconi Wireless News - Former Nicaragua president Violeta Chamorro dead at 95

Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, "died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children," said a statement issued by her four children.

As president, Chamorro managed to bring to an end a civil war that had raged for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the 'Contras' fought the leftist Sandinista government.

That conflict made Nicaragua one of the big proxy battlegrounds of the Cold War.

Chamorro put her country on the path to democracy in the difficult years following the Sandinista revolution of 1979, which had toppled a US-backed right-wing regime.

In a country known for macho culture, Chamorro had a maternal style and was known for her patience and a desire for reconciliation.

When she won the 1990 election at the head of a broad coalition, she defeated Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista guerrilla leader and icon who is now president again -- and has faced criticism for ruling like a leftist dictator.

F.Bennett--AMWN