Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier
| Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier | |
|---|---|
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| President of Costa Rica | |
| In office 8 May 1990 – 8 May 1994 |
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| Preceded by | Óscar Arias |
| Succeeded by | José María Figueres |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 March 1949 Diriamba, Nicaragua |
| Political party | PUSC |
| Spouse(s) | Gloria Bejarano Almada |
| Profession | lawyer, politician |
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier (born in Diriamba, Nicaragua, on 14 March 1949) served as President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994. He was the presidential candidate of the Social Christian Unity Party for the national elections held in February 2010, but resigned his candidacy on 5 October 2009, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for two counts of corruption.
Family life
Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier was born in Diriamba, Nicaragua, on 14 March 1949. His father was Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia, who served as president from 1940 to 1944. His mother was Maria del Rosario Fournier Mora. He was born while his parents were in exile.
Calderon Fournier is married to Gloria Bejarano Almada. They have four children: Rafael Ángel, Gloria del Carmen, María Gabriela y Marco Antonio. They also have six grandchildren: Alex, Gloria, Tomas, Felipe, Rafael Angel and Karolina. Calderon Fournier's eldest sister, Alejandra, a troskist leader, died in an accident in 1979, at the age of 25.
Education
Calderon started his primary education at the Colegio de Mexico, led by Marist Fathers. Calderón Fournier returned to Costa Rica in 1958, when he was nine year old. Mario Echandi Jiménez (president 1958–1962) was elected that year and he allowed the return of political exiles, including former president Calderon Guardia.
He attended his secondary education at the Colegio La Salle in San José, Costa Rica. Calderón Fournier studied law at the University of Costa Rica.
Political life
Calderon Fournier was elected secretary of secondary education issues of the Partido Unificacion Nacional (PUN). At 20 he was elected President of the Youth of the PUN. Shortly after the death of his father in 1970, he was appointed to the board of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. In that capacity he participated in the drafting of the new regulations of the retirement systems of the country[citation needed].
He was elected congressman in 1974 and served for two consecutive terms as chairman of the Committee on Social Affairs. Among other important bills, the commission adopted the Law on Social Development and Family Allowances, which gave the country a non-contributory pension scheme, which now covers more than a hundred thousand elderly (citation required).
In 1991 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Houston.
Involvement in corruption scandals, trial and sentence
After an alleged corruption scandal he was incarcerated in October 2004.[1][2][3] He was released from jail and was placed under house arrest.[4]
Calderon Fornier was accused of receiving money from the Finish firm Instrumentarium in exchange of contracts for the firm with the Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social (CCSS). His trial started on 3 November 2008, and the hearings finished in September 2009. In spite of the charges, he officially announced his candidacy for the Presidency of Costa Rica in 2010 elections. On 5 October 2009 Calderón was sentenced to five years in prison.[5] He walked out of the court room and notified the press that he would appeal the sentence and that he was not running for president in order to focus on his appeal.[6]
Calderon Fournier's co-defendants received varied sentences. Walter Reiche (an executive from Costa Rican firm Corporación Fischel)was sentenced to serve four years of prison. Eliseo Vargas García, former CEO of CCSSS was sentenced to serve a five tear term in prison. Gerardo Bolaños Alpízar, a former member of the CCSS' board was sentenced to three years and a half in prison; the same sentence than Juan Carlos Sánchez Arguedas, an executive of CCSS and Marvin Barrantes, CEO of Corporación Fischel Finish attorney general presses charges (in Spanish).
On 11 May 2011 Calderon Fournier's appeal was rejected by the tribunal (the so-called Sala III). The judges confirmed the previous sentence. However, they reduced the term to serve in prison from five to three years. According to the Costa Rican law, he can be expected not to serve this time in prison. Sala III ratifies Calderon's sentence. Calderon's wife, Mrs. Gloria Bejarano Almada, who currently serves as a deputy at the Asamblea Legislativa (congress of the country) and who is a member of the parliament's directorate, was sentenced to pay US$70,000 to the Costa Rican government for her participation in the scandal. According to the ruling, Mrs. Bejarano Almada obtained an economic profit in the scandal In Spanish -Bejarano should pay US $ to the State. On April 13, the Costa Rican newspaper La Nación informed that Finland's attorney general will press charges against three executives from the Finish firm Instrumentarium. The three executives will be charged of crimes connected with corruption and fraud related to a loan of $39.5 granted by the Finish government to the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (the Costa Rican agency in charge of public hospitals) and intended to finance the purchase of medical equipment. According to the Finish attorney general, the accused executives, who worked for Instrumentarium Medko Medical, later acquired by General Electric, distributed a total of $ 8.7 millions to Costa Rican partners and public servants in kick-backs. The attorney general believes that the trial could begin by September, 2012 and that a sentence would be pronounced early 2013 Finland's attorney general presses charges against executives (In Spanish only).
External links
- A quick summary of Calderón's incarceration: Jurist Legal News Brief
- News Update: Calderón's Release 19 October 2005: Teletica Report (Spanish)
References
- ^ Sociedad de Calderón recibió $440.500 de grupo Fischel (Spanish)
- ^ Calderón refuta versión de dos imputados (Spanish)
- ^ Rafael Angel Calderón no respondió preguntas de los fiscales (Spanish)
- ^ Ex presidente Rafael Angel Calderón salió de la cárcel a purgar prisión domiciliaria (Spanish)
- ^ Calderón Fournier condenado por recibir comisiones ilegales (Spanish)
- ^ ‘No hay autoridad moral para salir a pedir votos’ (Spanish)
| Preceded by Óscar Arias |
President of Costa Rica 1990–1994 |
Succeeded by José María Figueres |
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