Origins & Early Life

Juan Mora Fernández (12 July 1784 – 16 November 1854) was a Costa Rican educator and statesman who served as the 1st Head of State of Costa Rica from 1824 to 1833. He was considered a liberal. Mora was indirectly elected as the first head of state in 1824 (provisional until 1825) and left office at the end of his second term. He is remembered for instituting land reform, and he followed a progressive course.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

As a consequence of his land reform structure, he inadvertently created an elite class of powerful coffee barons. Under his tenure he signed the Acta de Indepencia. The barons eventually overthrew one of his later successors, José María Alfaro Zamora. From 1850 to 1854 he was Magistrate and President of the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica; he died shortly after he resigned. The first printing press arrived in Costa Rica under his tenure.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Juan Mora Fernàdez was born on July 12, 1788, in San José, Costa Rica, to Mateo Mora Valverde and Lucia Encarnación Fernàndez. He attended his primary school in San José and studied Latin grammar and philosophy in León, Nicaragua. He also became a teacher and a principal in a primary school in Alajuela. He became secretary...

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