Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento (; born 30 September 1959), also known as Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, is a Honduran politician who is the 56th president of Honduras, in office since January 2022. She is the country's first female president, having earlier served as first lady during the presidency of her husband Manuel Zelaya. Castro grew up in Tegucigalpa and studied business administration. She married Manuel Zelaya in 1976 and became active in the women's section of the Liberal Party of Honduras. She became the country's first lady in 2006 following her husband's victory in the 2005 presidential election. Castro became involved in the National Popular Resistance Front after the 2009 coup d'état which resulted in the end of her husband's presidency. She was nominated as the presidential candidate of the left-wing Liberty and Refoundation (LIBRE) party at the 2013 election, finishing runner-up to National Party candidate Juan Orlando Hernández and outpolling Liberal candidate Mauricio Villeda. At the 2017 election she was Salvador Nasralla's running mate, with the ticket narrowly losing to Hernández amidst allegations of irregularities. Castro was ultimately elected to the presidency in 2021, defeating National candidate Nasry Asfura with Nasralla as her running mate. She is the first president from outside the country's two-party system since democracy was restored in 1982. Early life The second of five children, Castro attended primary and secondary school in Tegucigalpa at the San José del Carmen Institute and the María Auxiliadora Institute. Following, she earned a degree in business administration without attending university. In January 1976, Castro married Manuel Zelaya. Immediately after the wedding, they made their home in Catacamas, Olancho. Castro played an active part in the Association of Spouses of Members of the Rotary Club of Catacamas, as well as the activities developed within the group to take care of children in need in the Olancho department. She took part in the creation of the Centro de Cuidado Diurno para Niños en Catacamas (Children's Daily Care Center in Catacamas), with the aim of offering assistance to single-parent families led by women, including through the creation of projects of basic cleaning, sowing of vegetables, and floriculture as important projects of job development. Political career In Catacamas, Castro organized the women's branch of the Liberal Party of Honduras and conducted a strong campaign in favor of her husband in the internal elections of February 2005, an occasion in which she was in