Anastasio Somoza Garcia was the long-time president of Nicaragua and founder of a dynasty that ruled the country for 50 years. He was born to wealth and privilege in an elite family with strong commercial and governing experience. His well-heeled family sent the young lad to the United States as a teenager in order to complete his education. While in America, Anastasio met another wealthy Nicaraguan exile and later married her. Returning to Nicaragua after finishing his education, this ambitious young man floundered for a few years. However, when a foreign power invaded his country to intervene in a civil war, Somoza made good use of his interpreting skills to secure himself an elevated position in the new government. Later being appointed head of his country's national police force, Anastasio quickly seized the reins of power. He used his new position to order the assassination of a rebel general, followed by the massacre of the rebel general's supporters. Somoza then dismissed the president and installed himself in the top slot. Using nepotism, corruption and classically brutal dictatorship tactics, Somoza extracted vast amounts of wealth from his country for his own personal benefit. Supported and aided by a foreign power, Somoza and his family ran Nicaragua like a medieval fiefdom until an assassin's bullet fatally wounded him during a party.