José Joaquín Trejos Fernández

Joaquín Trejos
President of Costa Rica
In office 8 May 1966 – 8 May 1970
Preceded by	Francisco Orlich
Succeeded by	José Figueres Ferrer
Personal details
Born	18 April 1916 San José
Died	10 February 2010 (aged 93) San José
Political party	National Unification Party (PUN)[1]
Alma mater	University of Costa Rica[2]
Occupation	Diplomat
Religion	Roman Catholic

José Joaquín Antonio Trejos Fernández (18 April 1916 – 10 February 2010) was President of Costa Rica from 1966 to 1970. His parents were Juan Trejos Quirós and Emilia Fernández Aguilar. As a student he obtained degrees in mathematics and economics from the University of Costa Rica. During Mario Echandi's administration he was part of Costa Rica's delegation in the United Nations. Trejos defeated Daniel Oduber in the election that secured him the presidency.^[2] Trejos died on 10 February 2010.^[3]

Elected as president

Without any political experience he won the presidential election of 1966 as candidate of a "Unificación Nacional" coalition. His victory was a close win over Daniel Oduber Quirós, with less than 4000 votes in his favor. Voters elected 26 congressmen from his party and the opposition won 29 seats.^[4] During the Trejos presidency, the aggregated tax (IV) was introduced and the government debts were virtually erased.

References

1. "Political Leaders: Costa Rica". Zárate's Political Collections. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
2. "José Joaquín Trejos Fernández". GuiasCostaRica.com. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
4. Historía de Costa Rica, Monge Alfaro, Carlos. edición #16, Imprenta Trejos, 1980, página 307, page 307