Trejos Fernández, José Joaquín (1916–)

José Joaquín Trejos Fernández (b. 18 April 1916), president of Costa Rica (1966–1970), professor, dean, and vice rector of the University of Costa Rica.

José Joaquín Trejos Fernández came to national prominence only after being nominated as a presidential candidate in 1965 when the former presidents and political adversaries Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (1940–1944) and Otilio Ulate Blanco (1949–1953) joined their forces in opposition to the ever more dominant National Liberation Party (PLN). Trejos, although a Calderonist, had little prior political experience but was widely known and respected as a professional of great integrity and rectitude.

After his surprise victory, Trejos's administration distinguished itself in several areas. Among its most notable accomplishments were the sustained growth in the gross national product and the development of the infrastructure on the Atlantic coast with the construction of a highway to Puerto Limon and new wharfage facilities for the port, and the extension of the Tortuguero Canal.

See alsoCosta Rica, National Liberation Party .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

José Joaquín Trejos Fernández, Reflexiones sobre la educación (1963).

Charles D. Ameringer, Don Pepe (1978).

Harold D. Nelson, ed., Costa Rica: A Country Study (1983).

Additional Bibliography

Chincilla Coto, José Carlos and Maynor Antonio Mora. El sistema de partidos políticos en Costa Rica durante el segundo mitad del siglo XX. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 2005.

Cuevas Molina, Rafael. Cultura y política en Costa Rica: Entrevistas a protagonistas de la política cultural en la segunda mitad del siglo XX. San José: Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia, 2006.

Ocontrillo García, Eduardo. Cien años de política Costarricense: 1902–2002; De acensión esquivel a Abel Pacheco. San José: Editorial de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 2004.

                                    John Patrick Bell