 |
|---|
 Costa Ricaportal |
The following article lists the presidents and heads of state of Costa Rica since Central American independence from Spain. From 1824 to 1838 Costa Rica was a state within the Federal Republic of Central America; since then it has been an independent nation.
Liberal Conservative
| No. | Head of State | Portrait | Term of Office | Political Affiliation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Mora Fernández (1784–1854) |  | 1824–1833 | Liberal | Two consecutive terms; re-elected in 1829. |
| 2 | José Rafael Gallegos (1784–1850) |  | 1833–1835 | Conservative | Resigned, Manuel Fernández Chacón and Nicolás Ulloa Soto followed as acting Heads of State. |
| 3 | Braulio Carrillo Colina (1800–1845) |  | 1835–1837 | Liberal | First term. |
| 4 | Juan Mora Fernández (1784–1854) | | March–April 1837 | Liberal | Provisional. |
| 5 | Manuel Aguilar Chacón (1797–1846) |  | 1837–1838 | Liberal | Deposed in a coup d'état. |
| 6 | Braulio Carrillo Colina (1800–1845) | | 1838–1842 | Liberal | Second term. Deposed in a coup d'état. |
| 7 | Francisco Morazán (1792–1842) |  | April–September 1842 | Liberal | Deposed by popular uprising; executed on 15 September 1842. |
| 8 | António Pinto Soares (1780–1865) |  | September 1842 | Liberal | Came to power in popular uprising, and quickly resigned. |
| 9 | José María Alfaro Zamora (1799–1865) |  | 1842–1844 | Liberal | First term. Provisional. |
| 10 | Francisco María Oreamuno Bonilla (1801–1856) |  | November–December 1844 | Liberal | Deposed in a coup d'état. |
| 11 | José Rafael Gallegos (1784–1850) | | 1845–1846 | Conservative | |
| 12 | José María Alfaro Zamora (1799–1856) | | 1846–1847 | Liberal | Second term. |
| 13 | José Castro Madriz (1818–1892) |  | 1847–1848 | Liberal |
Liberal Conservative Military PP PR PRN PUN PLN PUSC PAC PPSD
| No. | President (Birth–Death) | Term of Office | Political Affiliation | Election | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | José María Castro Madriz (1818–1892) | | 31 August 1848 [1] | 16 November 1849 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1847 | "Founder of the Republic". |
| (1) | Miguel Mora Porras (1816–1887) |  | 16 November 1849 | 26 November 1849 | Non-partisan Liberal | Interim president. | |
| 2 | Juan Mora Porras (1814–1860) |  | 26 November 1849 | 14 August 1859 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1849 1853 1859 | First, second and third term. |
| 3 | José María Montealegre Fernández (1815–1887) |  | 14 August 1859 | 8 May 1863 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1860 | Provisional 1859–1860. |
| 4 | Jesús Jiménez Zamora (1823–1897) |  | 8 May 1863 | 8 May 1866 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1863 | |
| 5 | José Castro Madriz (1818–1892) | | 8 May 1866 | 1 November 1868 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1866 | Second term. Deposed in a coup d'état. |
| 6 | Jesús Jiménez Zamora (1823–1897) | | 1 November 1868 | 27 April 1870 | Military | De facto | Second term. |
| 7 | Bruno Carranza Ramírez (1822–1891) |  | 27 April 1870 | 8 August 1870 | Non-partisan Liberal | Appointed by Tomás Guardia as provisional president. Resigned after a few months. | |
| 8 | Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez (1831–1882) |  | 10 August 1870 | 8 May 1876 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1872 | Provisional 1870–1872, latter elected. |
| 9 | Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz (1824–1898) |  | 8 May 1876 | 30 July 1876 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1876 | Deposed in a coup d'état. |
| 10 | Vicente Herrera Zeledón (1821–1888) |  | 30 July 1876 | 11 September 1877 | Non-partisan Conservative | Appointed by Guardia. | |
| 11 | Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez (1831–1882) | | 11 September 1877 | 6 July 1882 | Non-partisan Liberal | Second term as de facto ruler. Died in office. | |
| 12 | Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez (1826–1905) |  | 6 July 1882 | 20 July 1882 | Non-partisan Liberal | Acting president. | |
| 13 | Próspero Fernández Oreamuno (1834–1885) |  | 20 July 1882 | 12 March 1885 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1882 | Died in office. |
| 14 | Bernardo Soto Alfaro (1854–1931) |  | 12 March 1885 | 8 May 1890 | Non-partisan Liberal | 1886 | Two consecutive terms, the first incomplete. Carlos Durán Cartín was acting president 1889–1890. |
| 15 | José Rodríguez Zeledón (1837–1917) |  | 8 May 1890 | 8 May 1894 | Constitutional | 1889 | |
| 16 | Rafael Yglesias Castro (1861–1924) |  | 8 May 1894 | 8 May 1902 | Civil | 1893 | First and second term. |
| 17 | Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra (1844–1923) |  | 8 May 1902 | 8 May 1906 | National Union | 1901 | |
| 18 | Cleto González Víquez (1858–1937) |  | 8 May 1906 | 8 May 1910 | National | 1905 | First term. |
| 19 | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (1859–1945) |  | 8 May 1910 | 8 May 1914 | Republican | 1909 | First term. Son of Jesús Jiménez Zamora. |
| 20 | Alfredo González Flores (1877–1962) |  | 8 May 1914 | 27 January 1917 | Republican | Designated by Congress as no clear candidate won in 1913 | De facto Deposed by Tinoco in a coup d'état. |
| 21 | Federico Tinoco Granados (1868–1931) |  | 27 January 1917 | 13 August 1919 | Peliquista | Took power after coup, was sole candidate in the 1917 election | First and second term. Overthrown by popular uprising. |
| 22 | Juan Quirós Segura (1853–1934) |  | 13 August 1919 | 2 September 1919 | Peliquista | De facto | Previously Vice President. Replaced Tinoco after his escape. Forced to resign by the U.S. government. |
| 23 | Francisco Aguilar Barquero (1857–1924) |  | 2 September 1919 | 8 May 1920 | Republican | Interim president. | |
| 24 | Julio Acosta García (1872–1954) |  | 8 May 1920 | 8 May 1924 | Constitutional | 1919 | |
| 25 | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (1859–1945) | | 8 May 1924 | 8 May 1928 | Republican | 1923 | Second term. |
| 26 | Cleto González Víquez (1858–1937) | | 8 May 1928 | 8 May 1932 | National Union | 1928 | Second term. |
| 27 | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (1859–1945) | | 8 May 1932 | 8 May 1936 | National Republican | 1932 | Third term. |
| 28 | León Cortés Castro (1882–1946) |  | 8 May 1936 | 8 May 1940 | National Republican | 1936 | |
| 29 | Rafael Calderón Guardia (1900–1970) |  | 8 May 1940 | 8 May 1944 | National Republican | 1940 | |
| 30 | Teodoro Picado Michalski (1900–1960) |  | 8 May 1944 | 20 April 1948 | National Republican | 1944 | |
| (31a) | Santos León Herrera (1874–1950) |  | 20 April 1948 | 8 May 1948 | National Republican | Interim president. Former vice-president of Teodoro Picado Michalski. | |
| (31b) | José Figueres Ferrer (1906–1990) |  | 8 May 1948 | 8 November 1949 | Social Democratic | De facto | Came to power in the Civil War. Returned power to elected president after re-organizing the government. |
| 31 | Otilio Ulate Blanco (1891–1973) |  | 8 November 1949 | 8 November 1953 | National Union | 1948 | |
| 32 | José Figueres Ferrer (1906–1990) | | 8 November 1953 | 8 May 1958 | National Liberation | 1953 | Second term. Presidential re-election disallowed. |
| 33 | Mario Echandi Jiménez (1915–2011) |  | 8 May 1958 | 8 May 1962 | National Union | 1958 | |
| 34 | Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich (1907–1969) |  | 8 May 1962 | 8 May 1966 | National Liberation | 1962 | |
| 35 | José Trejos Fernández (1916–2010) |  | 8 May 1966 | 8 May 1970 | National Unification | 1966 | |
| 36 | José Figueres Ferrer (1906–1990) | | 8 May 1970 | 8 May 1974 | National Liberation | 1970 | Third term. Presidential re-election disallowed. |
| 37 | Daniel Oduber Quirós (1921–1991) |  | 8 May 1974 | 8 May 1978 | National Liberation | 1974 | |
| 38 | Rodrigo Carazo Odio (1926–2009) |  | 8 May 1978 | 8 May 1982 | Unity Coalition | 1978 | |
| 39 | Luis Monge Álvarez (1925–2016) |  | 8 May 1982 | 8 May 1986 | National Liberation | 1982 | |
| 40 | Óscar Arias Sánchez (born 1940) |  | 8 May 1986 | 8 May 1990 | National Liberation | 1986 | Nobel Peace Prize winner (1987). First term. |
| 41 | Rafael Calderón Fournier (born 1949) |  | 8 May 1990 | 8 May 1994 | Social Christian Unity | 1990 | Son of Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia. |
| 42 | José Figueres Olsen (born 1954) |  | 8 May 1994 | 8 May 1998 | National Liberation | 1994 | Son of José Figueres Ferrer. |
| 43 | Miguel Rodríguez Echeverría (born 1940) |  | 8 May 1998 | 8 May 2002 | Social Christian Unity | 1998 | |
| 44 | Abel Pacheco de la Espriella (born 1933) |  | 8 May 2002 | 8 May 2006 | Social Christian Unity | 2002 | Presidential re-election re-instated. |
| 45 | Óscar Arias Sánchez (born 1940) |  | 8 May 2006 | 8 May 2010 | National Liberation | 2006 | Second term. |
| 46 | Laura Chinchilla Miranda (born 1959) |  | 8 May 2010 | 8 May 2014 | National Liberation | 2010 | First female president of Costa Rica. [2] |
| 47 | Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera (born 1958) |  | 8 May 2014 | 8 May 2018 | Citizens' Action | 2014 | |
| 48 | Carlos Alvarado Quesada (born 1980) |  | 8 May 2018 | 8 May 2022 | Citizens' Action | 2018 | Youngest president since Alfredo González Flores (1914).First president to be called by Congress for hearing. |
| 49 | Rodrigo Chaves Robles (born 1961) |  | 8 May 2022 | Incumbent (Term ends on 8 May 2026) | Social Democratic Progress | 2022 | Incumbent |
The politics of Costa Rica take place in a framework of a presidential, representative democratic republic, with a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the president and their cabinet, and the President of Costa Rica is both the head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the Legislative Assembly. The president and 57 Legislative Assembly deputies are elected for four-year terms. The judiciary operates independently from the executive and the legislature, but is involved in the political process. Costa Rica has a strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Voting is compulsory de jure, but this is not enforced.
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Central America is usually defined as consisting of seven countries: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Within Central America is the Mesoamerican biodiversity hotspot, which extends from northern Guatemala to central Panama. Due to the presence of several active geologic faults and the Central America Volcanic Arc, there is a high amount of seismic activity in the region, such as volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, which has resulted in death, injury, and property damage.
The Libertarian Movement Party is a political party based on libertarian conservatism in Costa Rica. It was founded in May 1994. After an important protagonism during early 2000s with its perennial nominee Otto Guevara among the main candidates and reaching third place in 2006 and 2010, it was affected by several corruption scandals and lack of funds, the party gradually suffered a debacle in 2014 ending in fourth on the presidential ticket, and fifth in Parliament. Later losing all its mayors in the mid-term local election of 2016, to finally having bad results in 2018 with Guevara's candidacy reaching only 1% of support and losing all seats in Congress.
Central America is commonly said to include Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. This definition matches modern political borders. Central America begins geographically in Mexico, at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico's narrowest point, and the former country of Yucatán (1841–1848) was part of Central America. At the other end, before its independence in 1903 Panama was part of South America, as it was a Department of Colombia. At times Belize, a British colony until 1981, where English instead of Spanish is spoken, and where the population is primarily of African origin, has been considered not part of (Spanish-speaking) Central America.
The Federal Republic of Central America, initially known as the United Provinces of Central America, was a sovereign state in Central America which existed from 1823 to 1839/1841. The Federal Republic of Central America was composed of five states: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as a Federal District from 1835 to 1839. Guatemala City was the federal republic's capital city until 1834 when the seat of the federal government was relocated to San Salvador. The Federal Republic of Central America was bordered to the north by Mexico, to the south by Gran Colombia, and on its eastern coastline by the Mosquito Coast and British Honduras.
José Francisco Morazán Quesada was a liberal Central American politician and general who served as president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1830 to 1839. Before he was president of Central America he was the head of state of Honduras. He rose to prominence at the Battle of La Trinidad on November 11, 1827. Morazán then dominated the political and military scene of Central America until his execution in 1842.
José Santos Zelaya López was the President of Nicaragua from 25 July 1893 to 21 December 1909. He was liberal.
The National Liberation Party, nicknamed the verdiblancos, is a political party in Costa Rica. The party is a member of the Socialist International. Social-democratic by statute, the party has a few internal factions, including liberals, Third Way supporters, centrists, and social conservatives.
The Filibuster War or Walker affair was a military conflict between filibustering multinational troops stationed in Nicaragua and a coalition of Central American armies. An American mercenary, William Walker, invaded Nicaragua in 1855 with a small private army. He seized control of the country by 1856, but was ousted the following year.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Costa Rica have evolved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual relations have been legal since 1971. In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights made mandatory the approbation of same-sex marriage, adoption for same-sex couples and the removal of people's sex from all Costa Rican ID cards issued since October 2018. The Costa Rican Government announced that it would apply the rulings in the following months. In August 2018, the Costa Rican Supreme Court ruled against the country's same-sex marriage ban, and gave the Legislative Assembly 18 months to reform the law accordingly, otherwise the ban would be abolished automatically. Same-sex marriage became legal on 26 May 2020.
Carlos Salazar Castro was a Central American military officer and Liberal politician. Briefly in 1834 he was provisional president of El Salvador, and in 1839 he was provisional president of Guatemala.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Costa Rica, with Catholicism being its largest denomination. Catholicism is also the state religion, but the government generally upholds people's religious freedom in practice.
Lorenzo Montúfar y Rivera was a Guatemalan politician and lawyer. Superb leader and speaker, helped the liberal regime of Justo Rufino Barrios, served in the Guatemalan legislature, taught in the College of Law of the Universidad Nacional de Guatemala and, towards the end of his life, was a presidential candidate himself losing to general José María Reyna Barrios. He was also Foreign Secretary of Costa Rica in 1856 and from 1870 to 1873, and President of University of Saint Thomas, also in Costa Rica.
General elections were held in Costa Rica in 1889. Electors for the electoral college were elected on 7 October 1889, who in turn elected the president on 1 December 1889. It was particularly notorious for been the first time in Costa Rica's history that political parties took part in an election. The date of November 7 is still commemorated in Costa Rica as "Democracy's Day" due to the outcome of the liberal government accepting the results of the conservative opposition, as to that point, authoritarian governments were the norm.
General elections were held in Costa Rica on 1 April 1906. They were held during the presidency of Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra. Ibarra openly supported candidate Cleto González Víquez. Other candidates were former president Bernardo Soto Alfaro, former State and Police Secretary Tobías Zúñiga Castro, the also former State Secretary Máximo Fernández Alvarado and former justice and Foreign Secretary Ezequiel Gutiérrez Iglesias. Difference were more personal than ideological as all candidates except Gutiérrez were liberals, and the election had a strong "anti-cletista" component. This "anti-cletismo" was what united the opposition and talks about a common joint front occurred but it was not applied. Gutiérrez was candidate of the conservative "Democratic Union", the party that emerged from the now outlawed Catholic Union.
The First Costa Rican Republic is the name given to the historical period between the proclamation of the Republic of Costa Rica in the 1848 reformed Constitution and the official decree by then President José María Castro Madriz on 31 August 1848 and the Costa Rican Civil War of 1948 which ended with the enactment of the current 1949 Constitution on 7 November 1949 starting the Second Costa Rican Republic.
Liberalism in Costa Rica is a political philosophy with a long and complex history. Liberals were the hegemonic political group for most of Costa Rica's history especially during the periods of the Free State and the First Republic, however, as the liberal model exhausted itself and new more left-wing reformist movements clashed during the Costa Rican Civil War liberalism was relegated to a secondary role after the Second Costa Rican Republic with the development of Costa Rica's Welfare State and its two-party system controlled by social-democratic and Christian democratic parties.
Rodrigo Alberto de Jesús Chaves Robles is a Costa Rican politician and economist who is the 49th and current President of Costa Rica since 2022. He was previously Minister of Finance from 2019 to 2020 during the presidency of Carlos Alvarado Quesada.
