José María Montealegre

Who was José María Montealegre?

José María Montealegre Fernández was President of Costa Rica from 1859 to 1863.

Born into a wealthy family of coffee plantation owners, he was sent to study medicine in Aberdeen, where he graduated as a surgeon.

He came to power through a coup d'état against Juan Rafael Mora. In the first months of his presidency he convened a constitutional conventional, which produced the Constitution of 1859.

Under the new constitution he was popularly elected to a three-year presidential term in 1860, after which he handed on the presidency, peacefully and democratically, to Jesús Jiménez.

After earning the animosity of President Tomás Guardia, Montealegre decided to leave Costa Rica. He died in San Jose, California and his mortal remains laid near Mission San Jose until they were repatriated in 1978.

His sister was Gerónima Montealegre, and his great-great-grandniece is actress Madeleine Stowe.