List of Presidents of Costa Rica
BET Costa Rica
The following table contains a list of the presidents and heads of state of Costa Rica since Central American independence from Spain and Mexico. From 1823 to 1839 Costa Rica was a state within the United States of Central America; since then it has been an independent nation.
See also: Politics of Costa Rica, List of political parties in Costa Rica, History of Costa Rica
| Heads of State of Costa Rica | Term | Party | Notes |
| Juan Mora Fernández | 1825-1833 | Two successive periods; re-elected in 1829. | |
| José Rafael de Gallegos y Alvarado | 1833-1835 | ||
| Manuel Fernández Chacón | 1835 | ||
| Braulio Carrillo Colina | 1835-1837 | First term. | |
| Manuel Aguilar Chacón | 1837-1838 | ||
| Braulio Carrillo Colina | 1838-1842 | Second term. | |
| Francisco Morazán Quesada | Apr-Sep 1842 | Deposed by popular uprising; executed 15 September 1842. | |
| Antonio Pinto Soares | Sept 1842 | Came to power in popular uprising, and quickly resigned. | |
| José María Alfaro Zamora | 1842-1844 | First term. | |
| Francisco María Oreamuno Bonilla | 1844-1846 | ||
| José María Alfaro Zamora | 1846-1847 | Second term. | |
| José María Castro Madriz | 1847-1848 | ||
| Presidents of the Republic of Costa Rica | Term | Party | Notes |
| José María Castro Madriz | 1848-1849 | "Founder of the Republic". First presidential term. | |
| Miguel Mora Porras | 1849 | ||
| Juan Rafael Mora Porras | 1849-1859 | ||
| José María Montealegre Fernández | 1859-1863 | ||
| Jesús Jiménez Zamora | 1863-1866 | First term. | |
| José María Castro Madriz | 1866-1868 | Second presidential term. | |
| Jesús Jiménez Zamora | 1868-1870 | Second term. | |
| Bruno Carranza Ramírez | Apr-Aug 1870 | Coup d'état. | |
| Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1870-1876 | First term. | |
| Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz | May-Jul 1876 | Coup d'état. | |
| Vicente Herrera Zeledón | 1876-1877 | ||
| Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1877-1882 | Second term. | |
| Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez | 1882 | ||
| Próspero Fernández Oreamuno | 1882-1885 | Died in office. | |
| Bernardo Soto Alfaro | 1885-1890 | Elected in his own right in 1886. | |
| José Joaquín Rodríguez Zeledón | 1890-1894 | ||
| Rafael Yglesias Castro | 1894-1902 | Two consecutive terms. | |
| Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra | 1902-1906 | ||
| Cleto González Víquez | 1906-1910 | First term. | |
| Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1910-1914 | Son of Jesús Jiménez Zamora. First term. | |
| Alfredo González Flores | 1914-1917 | Deposed by Tinoco in a coup. | |
| Federico Tinoco Granados | 1917-1919 | Two consecutive terms. Overthrown by popular uprising. | |
| Juan Bautista Quirós Segura | Aug-Sep 1919 | Forced to resign by the U.S. government. | |
| Francisco Aguilar Barquero | 1919-1920 | Interim presidency; dictatorial powers. | |
| Julio Acosta García | 1920-1924 | ||
| Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1924-1928 | Second term. | |
| Cleto González Víquez | 1928-1932 | Second term. | |
| Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1932-1936 | Third term. | |
| León Cortés Castro | 1936-1940 | ||
| Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia | 1940-1944 | ||
| Teodoro Picado Michalski | 1944-1948 | ||
| José Figueres Ferrer | 1948-1949 | PLN | Came to power in civil war. Returned power to elected president after re-organizing the government. First term. |
| Luis Rafael Otilio Ulate Blanco | 1949-1953 | ||
| José Figueres Ferrer | 1953-1958 | PLN | Second term. |
| Mario Echandi Jiménez | 1958-1962 | PU | |
| Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich | 1962-1966 | PLN | |
| José Joaquín Trejos Fernández | 1966-1970 | PU | |
| José Figueres Ferrer | 1970-1974 | PLN | Third term. Presidential re-election disallowed. |
| Daniel Oduber Quirós | 1974-1978 | PLN | |
| Rodrigo Alberto Carazo Odio | 1978-1982 | PUSC | |
| Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez | 1982-1986 | PLN | |
| Óscar Arias Sánchez | 1986-1990 | PLN | First term; Nobel Peace Prize winner 1987. |
| Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier | 1990-1994 | PUSC | Son of Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia. |
| José María Figueres Olsen | 1994-1998 | PLN | Son of José Figueres Ferrer. |
| Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría | 1998-2002 | PUSC | |
| Abel Pacheco de la Espriella | 2002-2006 | PUSC | Presidential re-election re-instated. |
| Óscar Arias Sánchez | 2006-2010 | PLN | Second term |
Categories: Presidents of Costa Rica
