Tomás Miguel Guardia Gutiérrez (16 December 1831 – 6 July 1882) was a Costa Rican military officer and politician who was the 8th and 11th

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 ...

, serving from 1870 to 1876 and again from 1877 until his death in 1882. He remains one of the most influential figures in 19th-century Costa Rican politics.El Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones: Presidentes de la República de Costa Rica
/ref> Guardia rose to prominence as a leading figure in the military coup of 27 April 1870, when a group of army officers overthrew President Jesús Jiménez Zamora. Initially, he wielded power behind the scenes during the brief administration of his fellow conspirator, Bruno Carranza Ramírez, but after only three months, Guardia assumed the presidency himself in an acting capacity. He was elected in

1872 Events January * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. *January 20 – The Cavite mutiny was an uprising of Filipino military personnel of Fort S ...

for a three-year term. On 8 May 1876, Guardia formally relinquished the presidency to Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz, who had been elected earlier that year. However, he continued to exert significant political influence, effectively controlling both Esquivel's administration and that of his successor, Vicente Herrera Zeledón. On 11 September 1877, Guardia returned to the presidency. Shortly thereafter, he abolished the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, making Costa Rica one of the first Latin American nations to do so. Guardia remained in power until his death in 1882, marking the end of an era defined by his strong leadership, constitutional reform, and increasing state consolidation. Despite criticisms of his

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

tendencies, his influence on Costa Rica’s political development was profound and long-lasting. A key legacy of his first administration was the promulgation of the 1871 Constitution, a liberal and durable legal framework that guided Costa Rican governance for nearly eight decades, until the 1948 Civil War. His government emphasized centralization and national modernization, including improvements to infrastructure and the military.

References

1831 births 1882 deaths People from Guanacaste Province Costa Rican people of Spanish descent Presidents of Costa Rica Vice presidents of Costa Rica 19th-century Costa Rican people Costa Rican liberals {{CostaRica-politician-stub