Francisco María Oreamuno Bonilla (4 October 1801,

Cartago, Costa Rica Cartago () is the head city of Cartago canton of the Cartago Province, and is composed of the Oriental and Occidental districts as stated in the administrative divisions of Costa Rica. It was the capital of Costa Rica from 1574 to 1824. His ...

– 23 May 1856) was a Costa Rican politician and the Head of State of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

from November to December 1844.

Personal life

Oreamuno was the son of Isidro de Oreamuno y Alvarado and Justa de Bonilla y Laya-Bolívar. He studied Latin with Hipólito Calvo Rosales and philosophy with

Rafael Francisco Osejo Rafael Francisco Osejo was a Nicaraguan educator who governed Costa Rica in March 1823. Biography Born around 1790, possibly in the indigenous community of Sutiava, in the vicinity of León. Do not know the names of their parents, or your mo ...

. On June 7, 1827, Oreamuno married Nicaraguan Agustina Gutiérrez y La Peña-Monjehija, the daughter of Agustín Gutiérrez y Lizaurzábal and Josefa de La Peña-Monje y La Cerda. The couple had four children: María Esmeralda, Francisco José, Jesús María and Salvador.

Political career

Oreamuno became involved in politics in 1821. He served as a judge in Minas del Aguacate (1824), the third mayor of Cartago (1826), a legislator for Cartago (1826-1828), a member of the Court of Auditors (1826-1827), and was

regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipa ...

and interim Municipal President of Cartago (1831). He also held the roles of Federal Customs Administrator of Puntarenas (1831-1838), General State Administrator (1838 and 1842), Commissioner of Costa Rica in Nicaragua (1838), Trial Court Justice of Cartago (1841),

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

member (1843-1844), Vice Chief of Staff (1843-1844), Minister of Finance, Public Education and the Navy (1847), Governor of Cartago (1849-1850), Vice President of the Republic (1850-1856) and President of Congress (1850-1856). In the 1844 Costa Rican elections, the first that used a direct voting system, he achieved an overwhelming victory against the provisional Head of State,

José María Alfaro Zamora José María Alfaro Zamora (March 20, 1799 – June 12, 1856) was the Costa Rican Head of State between the periods of 1842 and 1844 as well as 1846 and 1847 and President of Costa Rica between May 1 and May 8, 1847. Early life and family ...

, and 28 other candidates. He started his tenure on 21 November 1844 and was supposed to continue in the role until 1848. However, he resigned and returned to Cartago; his resignation was not accepted. He was temporarily replaced by Rafael Moya Murillo (1844-1845) and

José Rafael Gallegos José Rafael de Gallegos y Alvarado (31 October 1784, Cesantes, Spain – 14 August 1850) was president of Costa Rica's ''Junta Superior Gubernativa'' from October 1822 to January 1823 and head of state of Costa Rica from March 1833 until March ...

(1845-1846). In April 1845, the legislature suspended him from office, declared that there was cause for proceedings against him and ordered that criminal proceedings be opened against him for abandoning his post, but he remained the titular head of state until 7 June 1846 when a military coup ended the constitutional government. In 1850, he became Vice President of Costa Rica under President

Juan Rafael Mora Porras Juan Rafael Mora Porras (8 February 1814, San José, Costa Rica – 30 September 1860) was President of Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859. Life and career Mora first assumed the presidency upon the resignation of his younger brother, Miguel Mor ...

Later life and death

He was a wealthy landowner and raised coffee and livestock in Cartago. He also wrote for the weekly publication ''La Paz y el Progreso''. In 1856, a severe

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic swept through Costa Rica, killing 10% of the population. Oreamuno caught cholera and died on 23 May 1856.

Legacy

In 1914, one of the cantons of Cartago province was named Oreamuno after him. His son-in-law Jesús Jiménez Zamora and his grandson

Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno Romualdo Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno (6 February 1859 – 4 January 1945) was a Costa Rican lawyer and statesman who served as President of Costa Rica on three separate occasions: 1910–1914, 1924–1928, and 1932–1936. A prominent figure in ...

were both Presidents of Costa Rica.

References

1801 births 1856 deaths People from Cartago Province Presidents of Costa Rica Vice presidents of Costa Rica 19th-century Costa Rican people Costa Rican liberals Deaths from cholera {{CostaRica-bio-stub