thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

Carlos Sáenz Herrera (

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium, 1 September 1910 – Saint José, 7 November 1980) was a

Vice President of Costa Rica The 1949 Constitution of Costa Rica established two vice-presidencies of Costa Rica, which are directly elected through a popular vote on a ticket with the president for a period of four years, with no immediate re-election. There has been variou ...

. He also served as a pioneer pediatrician in Costa Rica. His parents were

José Carlos Sáenz Esquivel José Carlos Sáenz Esquivel (May 19, 1861 – April 4, 1919) was a Costa Rican politician and lawyer. Personal life Jose Carlos Esquivel Sáenz, was born in Liberia, Costa Rica on May 19, 1861. The son of Vicente Sáenz Llorente and Marcelina E ...

and Úrsula Celina Herrera and Paut. He married his first wife in

Carthage Carthage was an ancient city in Northern Africa, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classic ...

, Costa Rica, on 4 December 1937. Her name was María Virginia Pacheco Gutiérrez, daughter of José Joaquín Pacheco Cooper and Carlota Gutiérrez Urtecho. His second wife, married on 1 September 1958, was Ángela Carbonell Massenet. She was the daughter of Francisco of Take Carbonell I Reverter and Juana Bautista Massenet Pozo. His primary studies were in the School Juan Rafael Dwells and secondary the Liceo of Costa Rica in Saint José where obtained his baccalaureate. When he finished his secondary studies he traveled to Belgium (1928), where graduated of doctor in Medicine in the Free University of

(1934). Later he specialized in

pediatrics Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, Adolescence, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many o ...

in the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, and returned to Costa Rica in 1935.

Professional activity

He was an early pediatrician of Costa Rica. For many years he served as the chairman of the Section of Pediatrics at the Hospital San Juan of God, and his efforts led to the foundation of the National Children's Hospital, inaugurated in 1964, that today carries his name.

Public office

He served as minister of health from 1949 to 1951 and

from 1962 to 1966. He served as interim President in 1963 and 1965, in replacement of the president Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich. Also, he was a leader in Social Insurance, professor and dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the

University of Costa Rica The University of Costa Rica (Spanish: ''Universidad de Costa Rica,'' abbreviated UCR) is a public university in the Republic of Costa Rica, in Central America. Its main campus, Ciudad Universitaria Rodrigo Facio, is located in San Pedro Mo ...

and president of the School of Doctors and Surgeons. The government of Belgium honored him in 1963 with the Order of the Crown.

Private activities

He was an important criador of livestock of milk in his fincas ''The Jaúles'', ''Bretaña'' and ''The Retreat'', and obtained important prizes in exhibitions national and international agriculture people. He was highly respected in his country, with a reputation of generosity and delivery to his patients.

Demise

He died in San José, Costa Rica, on 7 November 1980. The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica declared it benemérito of the Homeland in 1980. His son, Alberto Sáenz Pacheco, is also an eminent doctor and has occupied a lead role in social insurance.

Footnotes

References