First Ladies and Gentlemen of Costa Rica

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First Lady of Costa Rica
Flag of Costa Rica (state).svg
Carlos Alvarado Quesada CAQ PAC 10.jpg
Incumbent
Claudia Dobles Camargo

since 8 May 2018
Inaugural holderPacífica Fernández Oreamuno
Formation1847

First Lady or First Gentleman of Costa Rica (Spanish: Primera dama o Primer caballero de Costa Rica) is the title of the wife or husband of the president of Costa Rica. Traditionally, the president's wife was colloquially known as la presidenta ("the president", with a feminine -a ending). The current term was first used under Federico Alberto Tinoco Granados.

Operations[]

The Office of First Lady of First Gentleman is allocated no official funding from the government budget of Costa Rica.[1] Instead, the office and officeholder relies on private donations to cover the expenses.[1] These funds support the first lady's causes and foundations, which traditionally focus on cultural, environmental, and social issues.[1] The office of Leila Rodríguez Stahl, the first lady 2002 to 2006, had a staff of approximately 60 at its largest.[1] However, many of those staffers worked pro bono or were employed temporarily from other government offices.[1]

First ladies and gentlemen of Costa Rica (1847–Present)[]

First Lady or Gentleman President Years in Office Notes
Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno José María Castro Madriz 1847-1849 José María Castro Madriz was the first President of Costa Rica, making Pacífica Fernández the inaugural First Lady.
Miguel Mora Porras 1849
Juan Rafael Mora Porras 1849-1859
Sofía Matilde Joy Redman José María Montealegre Fernández 1859-1863 Born in the United Kingdom
Jesús Jiménez Zamora 1863-1866
Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno José María Castro Madriz 1866-1868
Jesús Jiménez Zamora 1868-1870
Gerónima Montealegre Fernández Bruno Carranza Ramírez 1870
Emilia Solórzano Alfaro Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez 1870-1876
Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz 1876
Vicente Herrera Zeledón 1876-1877
Emilia Solórzano Alfaro Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez 1877-1882
Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez 1882
Próspero Fernández Oreamuno 1882-1885
Bernardo Soto Alfaro 1885-1890
José Rodríguez Zeledón 1890-1894
Rafael Yglesias Castro 1894-1902
Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra 1902-1906
Cleto González Víquez 1906-1910
Vacant since President Oreamuno was unmarried Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno 1910-1914
Vacant, since President González was unmarried Alfredo González Flores 1914-1917
María Fernández Le Cappellain Federico Tinoco Granados 1917-1919
Juan Bautista Quirós Segura 1919
Francisco Aguilar Barquero 1919-1920
Elena Gallegos Rosales Julio Acosta García 1920-1924 Born in El Salvador
Vacant since President Oreamuno was unmarried Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno 1924-1928
Cleto González Víquez 1928-1932 Died in 1932 while President González was still in office
Beatriz Zamora López Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno 1932-1933 Beatriz Zamora López died in office in 1933. There was no First Lady until 1936
Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno 1936 Second wife of President Oreamuno
León Cortés Castro 1936-1940
Yvonne Clays Spoelders Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia 1940-1944 Born in Belgium. First woman to serve as a Costa Rican diplomat.
Teodoro Picado Michalski 1944-1948
Henrietta Boggs José Figueres Ferrer 1948-1949 Born in the United States. Boggs and Figueres divorced on January 1, 1954[2]
Vacant since President Ulate was unmarried Otilio Ulate Blanco 1949-1953 President Ulate never married, though he was in a long-term relationship with for many years.
Karen Olsen Beck José Figueres Ferrer 1954-1958 Born in Denmark. Olsen married President Figueres in office on February 7, 1954, becoming First Lady.[2]
Mario Echandi Jiménez 1958-1962 Daughter of Italian parents
Marita Camacho Quirós Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich 1962-1966 Became a supercentenarian in 2021.
José Joaquín Trejos Fernández 1966-1970
Karen Olsen Beck José Figueres Ferrer 1970-1974 Born in Denmark
Marjorie Elliott Sypher Daniel Oduber Quirós 1974-1978 Born in Canada
Estrella Zeledón Lizano Rodrigo Carazo Odio 1978-1982
Doris Yankelewitz Berger Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez 1982-1986 Costa Rica's first Jewish First Lady[3]
Margarita Penón Góngora Óscar Arias Sánchez 1986-1990
Gloria Bejarano Almada Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier 1990-1994 Born in Mexico
Josette Altmann Borbón José María Figueres Olsen 1994-1998
Lorena Clare Facio Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría 1998-2002
Leila Rodríguez Stahl Abel Pacheco de la Espriella 2002-2006 Rodriguez won the Miss Costa Rica pageant in 1960[1]
Vacant, since President Arias was divorced at the time. Óscar Arias 2006-2010
José María Rico Laura Chinchilla Miranda 2010-2014 Born in Spain. 1st First Gentleman of Costa Rica
Mercedes Peñas Domingo Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera 2014-2018 Born in Spain. Peñas and Solis are not married.[4]
Claudia Dobles Camargo Carlos Alvarado Quesada 2018-2022

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Lopez G., Mauricio (2003-12-01). "Primera Dama de la República: Leila Rodríguez, servidora a tiempo completo". La Nación (San José). Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  2. ^ a b "American Girl and Costa Rican President Wed". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 1954-02-08. Retrieved 2016-07-23.
  3. ^ "Costa Rica Will Have a Jewish First Lady with the Inauguration of Luis Alberto Monge to the President". Jewish Telegraph Agency. 1982-04-20. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  4. ^ "Meet Costa Rica's future First Lady, Mercedes Peñas Domingo". Inside Costa Rica. 2014-04-15. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
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