Xavier Chamorro Cardenal
Xavier was born in Granada, Nicaragua, a son of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Zelaya and his wife Margarita Cardenal Argüello. Chamorro's great-grandfather was Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Alfaro, 39th President of Nicaragua. He was also a relative of Leonardo Argüello. Xavier had two brothers, Jaime and Pedro Joaquín, who succeeded their father as publisher of "La Prensa" newspaper. They had two sisters, Ligia and Ana María. Prior to 1980, Chamorro Cardenal had worked with "La Prensa", a well-known Conservative publication. It had published criticism of the government. After his brother and editor Pedro Joaquín was assassinated in 1978 by alleged forces of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Xavier took over as editor of the paper. In 1980, he left "La Prensa," taking eighty percent of the staff with him, as they favored the Sandinistas. Together, they founded "El Nuevo Diario", with Chamorro Cardenal as director and editor. The newspaper provided a different political view from that of "La Prensa". The paper shut down in 2019. Xavier Chamorro Cardenal married Sonia García Cordova. They had five children together: Francisco Xavier, Margarita, Gabriel, Ana María, and Juan Sebastián. He also was a professional engineer and an amateur radio operator. Chamorro Cardenal died in Managua on 4 January 2008, reportedly of heart disease.
Career
He began his career working at his father’s newspaper, "La Prensa", and in 1980 became founding editor and publisher of "El Nuevo Diario", a competitor newspaper.