Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich (10 March 190729 October 1969) was the 34th

President of Costa Rica The president of the Republic of Costa Rica is the head of state and head of government of Costa Rica. The president is currently elected in direct elections for a period of four years, which is not immediately renewable. Two Vice President of C ...

from 1962 to 1966. He was an ethnic

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

, a descendant of Croatian settlers from the town Punat on the island of

Krk Krk (; it, Veglia; ruo, Krk; dlm, label= Vegliot Dalmatian, Vikla; la, Curicta; grc-gre, Κύρικον, Kyrikon) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kot ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. His villa in

Punat Punat is a municipality in the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia on the island of Krk. There are 1,973 inhabitants, with 90% Croats (2011). The town first appears in writings from AD 1377, but the exact date of foundation is not kno ...

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 José María Hipólito Figueres Ferrer (25 September 1906 – 8 June 1990) served as President of Costa Rica on three occasions: 1948–1949, 1953–1958 and 1970–1974. During his first term in office he abolished the country's army, nationa ...

, 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 Mario José Echandi Jiménez (17 June 1915 – 30 July 2011) was the 33rd President of Costa Rica, serving from 1958 to 1962. As diplomat Mario Echandi was a career diplomat. Prior to his election, he had served as Costa Rica's ambassador to ...

. He ran again in 1962, against the defeated 1948 leader Dr

Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (March 8, 1900 – June 9, 1970) was a Costa Rican medical doctor and politician, who served as President from 1940 to 1944. Early life Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia was born on 8 March 1900 in San José. In his ...

, 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 John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

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. He died on 29 October 1969 in San José. His wife,

Marita Camacho Quirós Marita del Carmen Camacho Quirós (born 10 March 1911) is the former First Lady of Costa Rica when her husband Francisco Orlich Bolmarcich was president from 1962–1966. She is the first person who was a First Lady to become a supercentenaria ...

, who is () , thus being the longest living person in Costa Rica and the oldest former

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

in the world.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlich Bolmarcich, Francisco 1907 births 1969 deaths People from San Ramón, Costa Rica Costa Rican people of Croatian descent National Liberation Party (Costa Rica) politicians Presidents of Costa Rica Businesspeople in coffee