José María Figueres facts for kids

Quick facts for kids José María Figueres
Figueres in 2012
42nd President of Costa Rica
In office 8 May 1994 – 8 May 1998
Vice President	Rodrigo Oreamuno Blanco Rebeca Grynspan
Preceded by	Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier
Succeeded by	Miguel Ángel Rodríguez
CEO and Director of the World Economic Forum
In office 2000–2004
Minister of Agriculture
In office 1989–1990
President	Óscar Arias Sánchez
Preceded by	Antonio Álvarez Desanti
Succeeded by	Juan Rafael Lizano Sáenz
Minister of Foreign Trade
In office 1986–1988
President	Óscar Arias Sánchez
Preceded by	None
Succeeded by	Luis Diego Escalante Vargas
Personal details
Born	(1954-12-24) 24 December 1954 (age 70) San José, Costa Rica
Political party	PLN
Spouses	Josette Altmann Borbón ​ (divorced)​ Cinthya Geovanna Berrocal Quirós
Children	2
Parents	José Figueres Ferrer Karen Olsen Beck
Alma mater	United States Military Academy (BS) Harvard University (MPA)
Profession	Businessman and politician
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José María Figueres Olsen (born 24 December 1954) is a businessman and politician from Costa Rica. He served as the President of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998. He also ran for president in the 2022 election.

Figueres began his career as an engineer in agribusiness. After about ten years, he started working in public service. He became the Minister of Foreign Trade and then the Minister of Agriculture. In 1994, he was elected President of Costa Rica. At 39, he was the youngest elected president in Costa Rica during the 20th century. After leaving the presidency in 1998, he became involved in important global issues. These issues include climate change, sustainable development, and technology.

In 2000, Figueres joined the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. He later left this role in 2004 due to a conflict of interest related to consulting work he had done before joining the Forum. Since 2010, he has been the Chairman of the Carbon War Room. This is a non-profit group that works on helping the world move to a low-carbon economy. In 2012, Sir Richard Branson announced that Figueres was appointed as the new President of the Carbon War Room.

About José María Figueres

José María Figueres is the son of José Figueres Ferrer. His father, often called Don Pepe, was President of Costa Rica three times. His mother, Karen Olsen Beck, was an American social worker. She later became a Costa Rican citizen. After being the First Lady, she was an Ambassador to Israel. She was also elected as a Member of Congress.

Figueres grew up in La Lucha, a farm community his father started. He went to public school there. Later, he studied at the Colegio Humboldt and Lincoln High School in San José.

He has three younger siblings: Christiana Figueres, Mariano, and Kirsten. His sister, Christiana, was a leader in international climate change talks for the United Nations. From his father's first marriage, Figueres has an older brother, Marti, and a sister, Muni. Muni Figueres has also held important public jobs.

José María has two children, José María and Eugenia, from his first marriage to Josette Altmann Borbón. He is currently married to Cinthya Berrocal Quirós.

His Education Journey

Figueres studied at the United States Military Academy (West Point). He graduated in 1979 with a degree in Engineering. While at West Point, he completed a special training course in 1975. He was recognized as a top student in his class.

Later, he continued his studies at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He earned a master's degree in Public Administration in 1991. During his time at Harvard, he also took classes at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School.

His Career in Business

After finishing his studies at West Point, Figueres returned to Costa Rica. He helped restructure his family's business, Sociedad Agroindustrial San Cristobal (SAISC). He helped the business become profitable again by selling unused assets and improving how things were done.

In 1990, Figueres co-founded Energía Global Inc. This company focused on renewable energy projects in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Chile. The company was later sold and is now part of ENEL.

Figueres also served on the Board of Directors for Terremark Worldwide Inc. This company helps businesses with their IT (information technology) needs. Terremark was bought by Verizon in 2011. He also worked with other international firms, including Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization and Abraaj Capital.

His Political Path

In 1986, President Óscar Arias, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, asked Figueres to help fix the national railway system (INCOFER). Figueres was then appointed as a Minister in Arias's government. He first served as Minister of Foreign Trade and then as Minister of Agriculture.

After his time as a minister, Figueres went back to school at Harvard University. He earned his master's degree in Public Administration in 1991.

When he returned to Costa Rica, Figueres decided to run for president. He sought the nomination from his political party, the National Liberation Party. After a challenging primary election, he won the party's nomination in 1993. He then won the national election in February 1994. José María Figueres Olsen became President of Costa Rica at 39 years old.

As President (1994-1998)

During his time as president, Figueres focused on Sustainable Development. This meant working on three main goals:

• Making Costa Rica's economy more productive, especially with new technology.
• Helping all people in Costa Rica have more opportunities and well-being.
• Ensuring society developed in a way that was good for nature.

His government worked to connect Costa Rica more closely with the global economy. Figueres reformed many public institutions. He closed some, like the Banco Anglo Costarricense, which had problems with corruption. He also reorganized the National Railway System (INCOFER). His administration also helped bring Intel Corporation to Costa Rica.

His government also started several projects to improve education. They changed the constitution to make sure 6% of the country's money went to public education. English was introduced as a second language in public schools starting from the first grade. Computer labs were also set up in high schools.

During his term, the government created the EBAIS (Primary Teams of Basic Health Care). These teams provided preventive medicine in communities, making it easier for people to get medical services.

Figueres was also an early leader in fighting climate change. In 1995, Costa Rica put a price on carbon, which was a first in the world. In 1994, he proposed an agreement with the U.S. Government on climate change. This was the first such agreement globally. President Figueres and U.S. Vice President Al Gore signed it in September 1994. Costa Rica continued to lead on climate change, helping to make the Kyoto Protocol a success. His sister, Christiana Figueres, played a big role in advising him and negotiating these agreements.

International Recognition

President Figueres has received several international awards for his work on Sustainable Development.

• Kew Gardens Annual Award, 1995
• Botanic Research Institute Texas, 1996
• State Botanical Garden in Missouri, 1996
• First Global Prize from the World Bank's Global Environmental Fund, 1998
• Liberty Prize from the Max Schmidheiny Foundation and St. Gallen University, 1998
• Award of the Climate Institute, Washington D.C., 1998
• Order of José Matías Delgado Grand Silver Cross from El Salvador, 1999
• Sustainability Award in Switzerland, 2003

His Work Around the World

After leaving the presidency in 1998, President Figueres started a foundation called Entebbe. This foundation created programs like LINCOS (Little Intelligent Communities). These programs used technology to help communities develop. He also helped create the "Digital Nations Consortium" with Nicholas Negroponte and Jeffrey Sachs. This program was overseen by the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1999, Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, asked him to lead a group on Information, Communication, Technology (ICT). He was later elected Chairman of the United Nations ICT Task Force.

While leading the ICT Task Force, Figueres became a Managing Director of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2000. The WEF is an organization that brings together world leaders to discuss global issues. Three years later, he became the first CEO of the WEF. He helped organize the annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Figueres left the WEF in late 2004. This was because of a conflict of interest related to consulting work he had done for a company called Alcatel before joining the Forum. He apologized for not telling the organization about this work earlier.

Since leaving government in Costa Rica, Figueres has served on many boards. He has been a director for organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the World Resources Institute (WRI). In 2008, he became Chairman of the Global Fairness Initiative, taking over from Bill Clinton. He is also a founding member of the Club de Madrid. This group is made up of over 100 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from around the world.

See also

In Spanish: José María Figueres Olsen para niños