Background
Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia was born in San Jose on 8 March 1900. The son of a prominent physician.
Paediatrician politician president statesman
Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia was born in San Jose on 8 March 1900. The son of a prominent physician.
He studied medicine at the University of Louvain in Belgium, where he experienced the influence of the advanced Social Catholic teachings of Cardinal Mercier.
Upon his return to Costa Rica, he established a successful practice in pediatrics and earned a reputation for charitable works. Following an undistinguished term in the National Legislature, he was elevated to the presidency by the outgoing caudillo, León Cortés Castro, who hoped he would be a puppet ruler.
He alienated the political right, but was unable to obtain the support of moderates and liberals because of his strong-arm and even fraudulent practices in imposing Teodoro Picado Michalski as his successor in 1944. His alliance with Communist Party chieftain Manuel Mora Valverde, in 1942, despite the continued support of the archbishop, tended to reinforce Calderon’s image as an extremist.
In 1948 Calderón again ran for president, and his attempt to annul the apparent victory of Otilio Ulate Blanco led to the civil war of 1948 and the coming to power of José Figueres Ferrer. Calderón fled to Nicaragua where, with the support of Anastasio Somoza García, he led two unsuccessful attempts to invade Costa Rica, in 1948 and 1955. Calderón eventually returned to Costa Rica and undertook another unsuccessful campaign for the presidency in 1962.