Emiliano Chamorro Vargas was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1917 to 1 January 1921 and again from 14 March 1926 to 11 November 1926. He was the son of Salvador Chamorro Oreamuno and wife Gregoria Vargas Báez, paternal grandson of Dionisio Chamorro Alfaro and wife Mercedes Oreamuno..., grand-nephew of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Alfaro, 39th President of Nicaragua, and Fernando Chamorro Alfaro and half-grand-nephew of Fruto Chamorro Pérez, 30th and 31st President of Nicaragua. Chamorro's first foray into politics came in 1893, when he participated in the failed revolution to topple President José Santos Zelaya. When Zelaya was finally removed in a 1909 coup led by Juan José Estrada, Chamorro became Chairman of the Constituent Assembly and leader of the country's Conservative Party. In reward for his assistance in defeating the revolt against President Adolfo Díaz, Chamorro was appointed Nicaragua's Minister to the United States. In 1914, he negotiated the Bryan-Chamorro Treaty with the United States, by which Nicaragua agreed to allow the construction of a canal across the country, linking the Caribbean with the Pacific Ocean . He returned to Nicaragua in 1916, and was elected president. His Conservative Party received United States assistance in attaining power, and Chamorro later partnered with the U.S. During his term in office he made a concentrated effort to pay off the country's creditors. Running again for office in 1923, he was defeated by Carlos José Solórzano. In 1926, he led a successful coup to overthrow Solórzano, but his new government failed to win American support, faced a civil war, and he eventually resigned in favor of Adolfo Díaz. In the following years, Chamorro served as Nicaragua's minister to several European states. Originally opposed to the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza García, he eventually reached a compromise in 1950, whereby the Conservative Party was granted a number of seats in the Congress. This, however, cost him the support of many radical members of the Conservative Party.
Emiliano Chamorro Vargas comes from a very influential family in Nicaragua, both politically as well as economically. His ancestors were:
Diego Chamorro de Sotomayor y Murga b. 1711 Sevilla, Spain, d. 1785 Nicaragua and Gregoria Gertrudis Lacayo de Briones y Pomar b. 1716 Granada, Nicaragua d. 1784 Granada, Nicaragua
Fernando Chamorro Lacayo b. 1751 Granada, Nicaragua d. 1793 Granada, Nicaragua and Barbara Nicolasa Arguello del Castillo b. 1756 Granada, Nicaragua d. 1785 Granada, Nicaragua
Pedro José Chamorro Argüello b. 29 Dec 1782 Granada, Nicaragua, d. 31 May 1824 Granada, army general, and Josefa Margarita Alfaro Jimenez-Monterroso b. 1794 Granada, Nicaragua, d. 1884 Granada, Nicaragua
Dionisio Chamorro Alfaro b. ABT 1817 Granada, Nicaragua, d. 3 July 1889 Granada, and Mercedes Antonia Oreamuno Abaunza b. 9 June 1834 Masaya, Nicaragua, d. 3 July 1889 Granada, Nicaragua
Salvador Chamorro Oreamuno and Gregoria Vargas Baez b.. 1853 Juigalpa, Chontales, d. 1936 Juigalpa, Chontales
He is nephew of President Rosendo Chamorro Oreamuno, half-grand nephew of President Frutos Chamorro Perez, nephew of President Diego Manuel Chamorro Bolaños and grand nephew of Presidents Fernando Chamorro Alfaro and Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Alfaro. Emiliano is the only child of Salvador Chamorro Oreamuno and Gregoria Vargas Baez. His mother remarried to Evaristo de la Rosa Enriquez and had nine other children, half siblings of Emiliano. Evaristo Enríquez was brother to Emiliano´s father in law, Ceferino Enríquez. Emiliano Chamorro Vargas married Lastenia Enriquez Bermudez, b. abt 1875 Comalapa, Chontales d. 7 April 1952 Managua, daughter of Ceferino Enríquez and Isabel Bermudez. Emiliano later Mercedes Rodriguez Urbina. He did not have children and inherited all his fortune to his nephews both from the Chamorro and the Enriquez family.
The portrait of President Emiliano Chamorro Vargas appears in the novel "Spalovač mrtvol", written by Czech novelist Ladislav Fuks and published in 1967, and in the film adaptation Spalovač mrtvol, directed by Juraj Herz and released in 1969.
