Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich

Francisco Orlich
President of Costa Rica
In office 8 May 1962 – 8 May 1966
Preceded by	Mario Echandi
Succeeded by	Joaquín Trejos
Personal details
Born	10 March 1907 San Ramón, Costa Rica
Died	29 October 1969 (aged 62) San José, Costa Rica
Political party	PLN

Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich ^[1] (10 March 1907 – 29 October 1969) was President of Costa Rica from 1962 to 1966. His grandfather on the Orlich side and his mother came to Costa Rica from the town of Punat on the island of Krk, Croatia. His villa in Punat is named "Villa Costarica".

Together with his brothers he founded in 1928 FJ Orlich & Hnos Ltda. (FJ Orlich & Brothers Limited). At first a large supply store in his hometown of San Ramón, this eventually grew to become one of Costa Rica's largest coffee firms. His half-brother, Franjo Jozef Orlich, the namesake of the firm, moved from Costa Rica to Pennsylvania and worked for Bethlehem Steel as a Pattern Maker in the Castings Plant.

A long-time friend of José Figueres Ferrer, with whom he had traveled together to study in the United States, Orlich was Figueres' second in command within the National Liberation Army in the Costa Rican Civil War.

Following that, the National Liberation Party was founded in the Orlich family farm in La Paz, San Ramón.

He twice served as Public Works Minister (1948-1949, 1953-1957) in Figueres' cabinets. Afterwards he ran for president in 1958, but lost to Mario Echandi Jiménez. He ran again in 1962, against the defeated 1948 leader Dr Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, and won the presidency.

Always called by his countrymen 'Don Chico', during his presidency he faced the major eruption of the Irazú volcano, that started just as U.S. President John F. Kennedy was visiting Costa Rica and lasted for over a year, causing major agricultural damage and landslides in the city of Cartago.

Don Chico left the presidency as a well loved figure and died of a stroke three years later.

References

1. Rulers.org