doc_text: President Bush is expected to name a female career diplomat as U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua as that country prepares for a new era under President-elect Violeta Chamorro, according to informed sources.
  The sources said Thursday it is virtually certain the appointment will go to Melissa Wells, 57, currently ambassador to Mozambique.
  They said the administration believed a female ambassador could relate better than a man to Mrs. Chamorro, who takes office Wednesday.
  They also said the administration is eager to have more women in key posts.
  Only rarely have U.S. ambassadorships in Latin America gone to women.
  In choosing Ms. Wells, the administration passed over several male career diplomats with long experience in that region, said the sources, who asked not to be identified.
  Ms. Wells, who was born in Estonia, has no prior experience in Latin America.
  Her personnel record indicates she speaks Spanish.
  Wells' name was submitted to the White House by Secretary of State James A. Baker III for the Managua post, and approval is considered "99.9 percent certain," one source said.
  The United States and Nicaragua have not had ambassadors in each other's capitals since July 1988.
  The Sandinista government expelled then-U.S. ambassador Richard Melton and seven other U.S. diplomats on the grounds they were interfering in Nicaragua's internal affairs.
  The Reagan administration retaliated by expelling Nicaraguan Ambassador Carlos Tunnermann and seven of his subordinates from the Nicaraguan embassy here.
  But a new era in U.S.-Nicaraguan relations is expected to open with the inauguration of Mrs. Chamorro, who defeated President Daniel Ortega in elections this February.
  Vice President Dan Quayle and a large congressional delegation are expected to represent Bush at her inaugural.
  The administration has asked Congress for $300 million in assistance to Nicaragua, part of which would be used for resettling Contra rebels.
  But the request has been stalled by Senate Democrats, some of whom believe that Eastern Europe has a greater claim on U.S. resources than Nicaragua.
  Wells' nomination as ambassador to Mozambique in 1986 encountered strong opposition from Senate conservatives who held up the appointment for 11 months in protest against U.S. policy toward that country.
  The nomination finally was approved in September 1987.
  Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., a leader of the campaign to hold up Wells' nomination, said he wanted to pressure the administration into dealing with rightist guerrillas opposed to Mozambique's Marxist government.
  Mozambique has since moderated its policies and is now off the U.S. government's list of countries under Marxist rule.
summary_text: President Bush is expected to name a female ambassador to Nicaragua in view of the election of president Violeta Chamorro.
  Front runner is Melissa Wells, 57, currently ambassador to Mozambique.
  Wells was born in Estonia, has no prior experience in Latin America, but speaks Spanish.
  The US and Nicaragua have not had ambassadors in each other's capitals since July 1988, when the Sandinista government expelled US diplomats on charges of interfering in Nicaragua's internal affairs.
  Wells' 1986 nomination as ambassador to Mozambique was held up for 11 months by Senator Jesse Helms, who wanted to pressure the administration into dealing with rightist guerrillas opposed to Mozambique's Marxist government.