Liberation theology and its practitioners played an essential role in the formation and leadership of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Spanish: "Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional", FSLN). This relationship, which reached its apex in the earliest years of FSLN rule (1978-1990) following the Nicaraguan Revolution, is observed in the ideological convergence between liberation theology and Sandinismo, the influence of liberation theologians within the FSLN government, and the interrelated support for liberation theology and the FSLN among the Nicaraguan populace, ranging from urban citizens to ecclesial base communities.