Commander-in-Chief of the Army (Nicaragua)

The Commander-in-Chief of the Army (Spanish: Comandante en Jefe del Ejército de Nicaragua) is the professional head of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Nicaragua.

Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Comandante en Jefe del Ejército de Nicaragua
Incumbent Julio César Avilés Castillo since 21 February 2010
Nicaraguan Armed Forces
Reports to	Minister of Defence
Precursor	Chief Director of the National Guard
Formation	July 1979
First holder	Humberto Ortega
Official website

On 20 April 1823 José Anacleto Ordóñez would declare Nicaragua's independence in Granada and appointed himself General en Jefe del Ejército, Protector y Libertador de Granada, essentially establishing military absolutism in the state, with himself as the de facto military leader until he was deposed on 19 January 1825.^[1]

This military absolutism would be brought back after the assassination of Head of State José Zepeda on 25 January 1837, during the presidency of José Núñez, who appointed Bernardo Méndez de Figueroa as "General Commander of Arms".^[2]

List of officeholders

Protector and Liberator of Granada

No.	Portrait	General Commander of Arms	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Ordóñez, CletoGeneral José Anacleto Ordóñez (1778–1839)	20 April 1823	19 January 1825	1 year, 8 months	[3]

General Commander of Arms

No.	Portrait	General Commander of Arms	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Méndez, BernardoColonel Bernardo Méndez de Figueroa (1782–unknown)	1837	1839	1–2 years	[2]
2		Fonseca, CastoGrand Marshal Casto Fonseca (1800–24 January 1845)	1839	1845	5–6 years	[4]
3		Munoz Fernandez, Jose TrinidadGeneral José Trinidad Muñoz (1790–18 August 1855)	1845	1855	9–10 years	[5]

Commander-in-Chief

No.	Portrait	Commander-in-Chief	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1		Ortega, HumbertoArmy general Humberto Ortega (1947–2024)	July 1979	21 February 1995	15 years, 7 months	[6]
2		Cuadra, JoaquínArmy general Joaquín Cuadra	21 February 1995	21 February 2000	5 years	[6]
3		McDonough, JavierArmy general Javier Carrión McDonough	21 February 2000	21 February 2005	5 years	[6]
4		Acevedo, MoisesArmy general Moises Omar Halleslevens Acevedo (born 1949)	21 February 2005	21 February 2010	5 years	[6][7]
5		Castillo, JulioArmy general Julio Avilés Castillo	21 February 2010	Incumbent	14 years, 9 months	[6]

References

1. Bolaños Geyer, Enrique (2018). "La Independencia de Nicaragua" [The Independence of Nicaragua]. enriquebolanos.org (in Spanish). Enrique Bolaños Biblioteca. Archived from the original on 31 March 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
2. "UCSD Libraries: 1811-1856". 2008-05-26. Archived from the original on 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2022-11-12.
3. "Cleto Ordóñez: Primer Caudillo Popular de Nicaragua" [Cleto Ordóñez: The First Popular Caudillo of Nicaragua]. El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). 8 August 2009. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
4. Chiozza, Giacomo; Goemans, H. E. (2011-08-18). Leaders and International Conflict. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-50166-8.
5. Hubert Howe Bancroft History of Central America. Vol. III. 1801-1887, The History Company, Publishers San Francisco, 1887
6. "Comandantes en Jefe del Ejército 1979 - 2010". Ejército.mil.ni (in Spanish). Ejército de Nicaragua. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
7. "LA PRENSA". overseas.mofa.go.kr. Embajada de la República de Corea en Nicaragua. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2021.