Francisco Urcuyo Maliaños (30 July 1915 – 14 September 2001) was a Nicaraguan politician, who served as Vice President of Anastasio Somoza Debayle from May 1967 to May 1972. He was born in Rivas. Urcuyo was the president of the lower chamber of National Congress of Nicaragua 1972–1973 and 1978–1979. In 1979 he was handpicked by Somoza as successor to the presidency. Urcuyo became acting president of Nicaragua for a single day from 17 to 18 July 1979, following the resignation of Somoza on 17 July. Upon taking office, he announced his intention to serve out the remainder of Somoza's term. This announcement provoked a strong reaction from the Sandinistas, other Latin American states, and the Carter Administration in the U.S. Recognizing the untenability of his situation, Urcuyo fled to Guatemala on 18 July, effectively handing the country over to the Sandinista junta. Biography Life and political career Urcuyo was born in Rivas in 1915. He studied abroad in Mexico and graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico as a surgeon in 1944. Urcuyo's political career began in 1954 and subsequently he served twice as vice minister of Health and vice president of Congress. On 1 May 1967 Urcuyo was sworn in as Vice President of Nicaragua, serving with Vice President Alfonso Callejas Deshón in the second term of President Anastasio Somoza Debayle. After Somoza's resignation, Urcuyo was handpicked as Somoza's successor to the presidency and served for 43 hours before fleeing from Managua to Guatemala, essentially leaving the capital to the Junta of National Reconstruction . He married María Luisa Muñoz and had four children. Constitutional President (July 1979) When the dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle fled the country on Tuesday, 17 July 1979, Urcuyo Maliaños was invested as a new constitutional president, with a mandate until 1 May 1981, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of 1974. During his brief presidency, declared the legality of his mandate, and quickly began to engage in dialogue with the various political forces in the country. But he refused to hand over power to the National Reconstruction Government Board on the grounds that he was not prepared. Also, he began to replace the most important Army positions with young related officers. That same day, the Andean Pact foreign ministers meeting in San José de Costa Rica publicly rejected the Urcuyo maneuver: "We urge Urcuyo to abide by the obligation to