José María Figueres
José María Figueres Olsen (born 24 December 1954) is a Costa Rican businessman and politician, who served as President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. He also ran for president in the 2022 presidential election but was defeated by Rodrigo Chaves.
José María Figueres | |
|---|---|
Figueres in 2012 | |
| 42nd President of Costa Rica | |
| In office 8 May 1994 – 8 May 1998 | |
| Vice President | Rodrigo Oreamuno Blanco Rebeca Grynspan |
| Preceded by | Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez |
| CEO and Director of the World Economic Forum | |
| In office 2000–2004 | |
| Minister of Agriculture | |
| In office 1989–1990 | |
| President | Óscar Arias Sánchez |
| Preceded by | Antonio Álvarez Desanti |
| Succeeded by | Juan Rafael Lizano Sáenz |
| Minister of Foreign Trade | |
| In office 1986–1988 | |
| President | Óscar Arias Sánchez |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Luis Diego Escalante Vargas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 December 1954 San José, Costa Rica |
| Political party | PLN |
| Spouse(s) | Josette Altmann Borbón (div.) Cinthya Geovanna Berrocal Quirós |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | José Figueres Ferrer Karen Olsen Beck |
| Alma mater | United States Military Academy (BS) Harvard University (MPA) |
| Profession | Businessman and politician |
| Signature | |
Figueres started his career as an engineer working in agribusiness. After a decade, he entered public service as Minister of Foreign Trade and then Minister of Agriculture. In 1994, he was elected President of Costa Rica, as the nation's youngest elected president of the 20th century (Alfredo Gonzalez Flores became president in 1914 at the age of 36, however he was not elected directly, as he was appointed by the National Assembly). He left the presidency of Costa Rica in 1998, since then he has been involved in global issues such as climate change, sustainable development, and technology.
In 2000, Figueres joined the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. In 2004, he resigned over the undeclared receipt of more than 900,000 US dollars in consultancy fees from the French telecommunications firm Alcatel. Later, he worked with Concordia 21 in Madrid. Since 2010, he has been Chairman of the Carbon War Room, an independent non-profit organization focused on the global transition to a low-carbon economy. On 27 March 2012, Sir Richard Branson announced that he was appointed as the new President of the Carbon War Room.