Joaquín Mora Fernández (16 January 1786 – 26 October 1862) was the provisional 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 1 March to 17 April 1837.

Personal

Joaquin Mora Fernández was born in

San José, Costa Rica San José (; meaning "Saint Joseph") is the capital city, capital and largest city of Costa Rica, and the capital of San José Province. It is in the center of the country, in the mid-west of the Costa Rican Central Valley, Central Valley, wi ...

, on 16 January 1786. He was the son of Mateo Mora y Valverde and Lucía Encarnación Fernández y Umaña, who were also parents of the first head of state,

Juan Mora Fernández Juan Mora Fernández (July 12, 1784 – November 16, 1854) was a Costa Rican teacher and principal who served as Costa Rica's first elected head of state. He was considered a liberal and decided to move the capital from Cartago to Puntarenas. M ...

. He got married in San José on November 27, 1819, to María del Pilar Bonilla y Nava (1804–1866), granddaughter of Spanish Governor José Joaquín de Nava y Cabezudo. They had five children: Mateo, Catalina, Rafaela, Pilar and María del Carmen Mora Bonilla.

First public office

He was commissioned in Costa Rica in Granada, Nicaragua (1822), a member of the special seat of judgement that tried the royal coup participant Joaquín de Oreamuno y Muñoz de la Trinidad (1823), a member of the Representative Council (1829–1831 and 1836–1838) and alternate judges of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica (1832).

Provisional Supreme Chief

On March 1, 1837, for completing the period of the Chief of

Braulio Carrillo Colina Braulio Evaristo Carrillo Colina (March 20, 1800, in Cartago, Costa Rica – May 15, 1845) was the List of Presidents of Costa Rica, Head of State of Costa Rica (the title as it was known before the reform of 1848) during two periods: the fir ...

and having not yet declared the election of his successor, he was named by the Legislative Assembly to exercise the executive branch and the Provisional Supreme Chief. He held this position until 17 April 1837. During his administration, he issued a decree that ordered the authorities to move the port of Puntarenas and Caldera to build on it the necessary buildings. It also issued a general rate of salaries and equipment of public officials.

Exile

In January 1839, Mora was accused of conspiring against the government of Braulio Carrillo Colina and of planning his murder. He vehemently rejected the charges but was sentenced to death. However, on the 18th of that month Carrillo decided to commute the sentence of death by the removal of country life. Puntarenas passed in 1840 on the steamer Eagle, from Valparaiso. Although he made no attempt to land, port authorities demanded that the captain of the ship deliver them to Mora. The captain refused and the ship left immediately. Given this fact, Braulio Carrillo Colina issued a decree which stated that if Joaquin Mora Fernandez reached anywhere within the territory of Costa Rica, he should be shot immediately.

Death

He returned to Costa Rica after the fall of Carrillo, and stayed away from politics, being devoted to the management of their coffee plantations. Fernandez died in San José, Costa Rica, on 26 October 1862.

References

1786 births 1862 deaths People from San José, Costa Rica Costa Rican people of Spanish descent Presidents of Costa Rica Costa Rican exiles 19th-century Costa Rican judges Costa Rican prisoners sentenced to death Prisoners sentenced to death by Costa Rica Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica judges Costa Rican liberals People from New Spain {{CostaRica-bio-stub