Nicaragua elections: Daniel Ortega

for third term in power

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla leader, won a third term in power after heavy social spending won him strong support among the country's poor in national elections.

He has helped the poor.

Mr Ortega has overseen a period of economic progress in his five years in power, backed by financial aid from his socialist ally in Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez.

A former commander of the Sandinista rebel army that won power in a 1979 revolution and a Cold War adversary of the United States, Mr Ortega has solidified his hold on the Central American country with programs to improve health and education, microcredits and gifts of livestock.

info page: telegraph.co.uk