Vicente Herrera Zeledón

Vicente Herrera Zeledón (born January 30, 1821 in San José ; † November 10, 1888 ibid) was President of Costa Rica from July 30, 1876 to September 23, 1877 .

Life

His parents were Antonia Zeledón Masís and José Cleto Herrera y Salazar (1798 – after 1845). In 1839 he graduated from high school in philosophy at the Casa de Enseñanza de Santo Tomas in San José, Costa Rica, in May 1846 he moved to Guatemala, where he graduated from the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala in 1849 with a Dr. graduated in law . On May 20, 1850, he was admitted to the bar in Costa Rica. He was a member of the Partido Conservador .

On December 18, 1853, he married Guadalupe Gutiérrez García, the daughter of María del Pilar García Ramírez and Atanasio Gutiérrez y Lizaurzábal, President of the Supreme Court from 1832 to 1833. With her he had three children: Angélica, Vicente and Mercedes Herrera Gutiérrez.

Pontifex advocatus

His policies were friendly to the church, in opposition to the anti-clerical policies pursued by Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón . He was president of the Junta de Caridad de San José . He was the legal advisor of the Curia Eclesiástica in Costa Rica and secretary of the Cabildo of the Diocese of Costa Rica.

He was professor of Castillian and Latin grammar at the Casa de Enseñanza de Santo Tomás. He resigned from the professorship in March 1845. From 1843 to 1888 the Casa de Enseñanza de Santo Tomás operated under the name Universidad de Santo Tomás . Later he was professor of canon law at this university, also gave lectures in public law, was secretary of the university, on various occasions in the university administration and in 1870 rector for a few months.

In 1856 he was secretary to the President Juan Rafael Mora Porras during this war against the Filibusteropiraten under William Walker (mercenary) . He was the MP and Governor of the Province of San José and Plenipotentiary of the Government of Costa Rica to the Governments of Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Corte Suprema

In 1852 and 1855 he was appointed prosecutor of the Supreme Court by Parliament. On October 17, 1856, he was appointed President of the Supreme Court by Parliament and held this office from September 22, 1858 to April 29, 1860.

State Council

During the first years of General Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez's rule, he held numerous public offices. From October 13, 1870 to February 24, 1872 he was Miembro del Consejo de Estado , Councilor of State. From February 15 to November 21, 1873 and December 1, 1873 to May 8, 1876 he was government minister. From September 6 to November 21, 1873, from March 3 to December 14, 1874 and May 20, 1875 to May 8, 1876 he was Foreign Minister. From May 22, 1874 to May 5, 1875 he was the third vice president. On May 10, 1876, shortly after the beginning of the term of office of the liberal Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz, he was reappointed the third deputy president, from which office he resigned on May 11, 1876.

Presidency

The military coup of July 30, 1876 put him in the presidential chair. The ruler of Costa Rica remained Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez . He presided over a repressive regime which had the press censored and which became more aggressive after a failed coup attempt in mid-1877.

Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez acted as his first deputy, his second deputy was Manuel Antonio Bonilla Nava. His third deputy was Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez, the son of Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez.

In the government cabinet sat:

• Foreign Minister: Rafael Machado Jáuregui
• Government Minister: Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez
• Finance and Trade Minister: Joaquín Lizano Gutiérrez (July 1876 – March 1877)
• Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez (March to September 1877)
• Minister of Public Works Rafael Barroeta Baca (June to September 1877)
• Minister for War and Navy: Initially, Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez
• Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez (March to September 1877).

The Consejo de Estado with five members was set up as an advisory body . This was chaired by Manuel Antonio Bonilla Nava.

In contrast to the anti-clerical Tratado Guardia-Salazar negotiated with Justo Rufino Barrios Auyón , according to which the Colegio San Luis Gonzaga de Cartago should have been closed, this Colegio received state funding, which is why its government was not recognized by the Barrios government. A border regime was established. The administration of the Municipios was re-established in the capitals of the Cantone, after these had been saved in 1859. There were measures for austerity and frugal public administration. In May 1877, Herrera visited Guanacaste Province to baptize a village after the ruler of Costa Rica, Guardia .

Guardia diagnosed that Herrera had to go abroad to restore his health, which is why Herrera made him president on September 11, 1877.

In exile in El Salvador, he met the exiled opposition to Guardia in 1879.

After his return to Costa Rica, no political statements have been made by him.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Clotilde María Obregón, Nuestros gobernantes: Verdades del pasado para comprender el futuro , Editorial Universidad de Costa Rica, 2002, p. 90

predecessor	Office	successor
Aniceto del Carmen Esquivel Sáenz	Presidents of Costa Rica July 30, 1876 to September 23, 1877	Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez