Juan Mora Fernández

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Mora and the second or maternal family name is Fernández.

Juan Mora Fernández (July 12, 1784 – November 16, 1854) was a Costa Rican teacher and principal who served as Costa Rica's first elected head of state.^[1] He was considered a liberal. Mora was elected as the first head of state in 1824 (provisional until 1825).^[2]

Juan Mora Fernàndez
Portrait of Fernández by Lorenzo Fortino
Head of state of Costa Rica
In office 1824/1825–1833
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Mariano Montealegre Bustamante (1824–1825), José Rafael de Gallegos y Alvarado (1825–1829)
President of Supreme Court of Costa Rica
In office 1850–1854
Preceded by	Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo
Succeeded by	Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo
Personal details
Born	12 July 1784 San José, Costa Rica
Died	16 November 1854(1854-11-16) (aged 70)
Political party	Liberal

He is remembered for instituting land reform, and he followed a progressive course. 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.^[3]

Biography

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 at the city hall at San José, participated actively for the struggle of independence, joined the Junta Superior Gebernativa between 1821 and 1824. He also became a head of Congress and the Supreme Court of Justice.^[4]