The Office of First Lady of First Gentleman is allocated no official funding from the government budget of Costa Rica.[1] Instead, the office and officeholder relies on private donations to cover the expenses.[1] These funds support the First Lady's causes and foundations, which traditionally focus on cultural, environmental, and social issues.[1] The office of Leila Rodríguez Stahl, the First Lady 2002 to 2006, had a staff of approximately 60 at its height.[1] However, many of those staffers worked pro bono or were employed temporarily from other government offices.[1]
| First Lady or Gentleman | President | Years in Office | Notes |
|---|
| Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno | José María Castro Madriz | 1847-1849 | José María Castro Madriz was the first President of Costa Rica, making Pacífica Fernández the inaugural First Lady. |
| Felipa Montes de Oca Gamero | Miguel Mora Porras | 1849 | |
| Inés Aguilar Cueto | Juan Rafael Mora Porras | 1849-1859 | |
| Sofía Matilde Joy Redman | José María Montealegre Fernández | 1859-1863 | Born in the United Kingdom |
| Esmeralda Oreamuno Gutiérrez | Jesús Jiménez Zamora | 1863-1866 | |
| Pacífica Fernández Oreamuno | José María Castro Madriz | 1866-1868 | |
| Esmeralda Oreamuno Gutiérrez | Jesús Jiménez Zamora | 1868-1870 | |
| Gerónima Montealegre Fernández | Bruno Carranza Ramírez | 1870 | |
| Emilia Solórzano Alfaro | Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1870-1876 | |
| Isaura Carazo Peralta | Aniceto Esquivel Sáenz | 1876 | |
| Guadalupe Gutiérrez García | Vicente Herrera Zeledón | 1876-1877 | |
| Emilia Solórzano Alfaro | Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez | 1877-1882 | |
| Angélica Guardia Solórzano | Saturnino Lizano Gutiérrez | 1882 | |
| Cristina Guardia Gutiérrez | Próspero Fernández Oreamuno | 1882-1885 | |
| Pacífica Fernández Guardia | Bernardo Soto Alfaro | 1885-1890 | |
| Luisa Alvarado Carrillo | José Rodríguez Zeledón | 1890-1894 | |
| Manuela Rodríguez Alvarado | Rafael Yglesias Castro | 1894-1902 | |
| Adela Salazar Guardia | Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra | 1902-1906 | |
| Adela Herrán Bonilla | Cleto González Víquez | 1906-1910 | |
| Vacant since President Oreamuno was unmarried | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1910-1914 | |
| Vacant, since President González was unmarried | Alfredo González Flores | 1914-1917 | |
| María Fernández Le Cappellain | Federico Tinoco Granados | 1917-1919 | |
| Clementina Quirós Quirós | Juan Bautista Quirós Segura | 1919 | |
| Natalia Morúa Ortíz | Francisco Aguilar Barquero | 1919-1920 | |
| Elena Gallegos Rosales | Julio Acosta García | 1920-1924 | Born in El Salvador |
| Vacant since President Oreamuno was unmarried | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1924-1928 | |
| Adela Herrán Bonilla | Cleto González Víquez | 1928-1932 | Died in 1932 while President González was still in office |
| Beatriz Zamora López | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1932-1933 | Beatriz Zamora López died in office in 1933. There was no First Lady until 1936 |
| María Eugenia Calvo Badia | Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno | 1936 | Second wife of President Oreamuno |
| Julia Fernández Rodríguez | León Cortés Castro | 1936-1940 | |
| Yvonne Clays Spoelders | Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia | 1940-1944 | Born in Belgium. First woman to serve as a Costa Rican diplomat. |
| Etelvina Ramírez Montiel | Teodoro Picado Michalski | 1944-1948 | |
| Henrietta Boggs | José Figueres Ferrer | 1948-1949 | Born in the United States. Boggs and Figueres divorced on January 1, 1954[6] |
| Vacant since President Ulate was unmarried | Otilio Ulate Blanco | 1949-1953 | President Ulate never married, though he was in a long-term relationship with Haydée Rojas Smith for many years. |
| Karen Olsen Beck | José Figueres Ferrer | 1954-1958 | Born in Denmark. Olsen married President Figueres in office on February 7, 1954, becoming First Lady.[2] |
| Olga De Benedictis Antonelli | Mario Echandi Jiménez | 1958-1962 | Daughter of Italian parents |
| Marita Camacho Quirós | Francisco José Orlich Bolmarcich | 1962-1966 | |
| Clara Fonseca Guardia | José Joaquín Trejos Fernández | 1966-1970 | |
| Karen Olsen Beck | José Figueres Ferrer | 1970-1974 | Born in Denmark |
| Marjorie Elliott Sypher | Daniel Oduber Quirós | 1974-1978 | Born in Canada |
| Estrella Zeledón Lizano | Rodrigo Carazo Odio | 1978-1982 | |
| Doris Yankelewitz Berger | Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez | 1982-1986 | Costa Rica's first Jewish First Lady[3] |
| Margarita Penón Góngora | Óscar Arias Sánchez | 1986-1990 | |
| Gloria Bejarano Almada | Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier | 1990-1994 | Born in Mexico |
| Josette Altmann Borbón | José María Figueres Olsen | 1994-1998 | |
| Lorena Clare Facio | Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Echeverría | 1998-2002 | |
| Leila Rodríguez Stahl | Abel Pacheco de la Espriella | 2002-2006 | Rodriguez won the Miss Costa Rica pageant in 1960[1] |
| Vacant, since President Arias was divorced at the time. | Óscar Arias | 2006-2010 | |
| José María Rico | Laura Chinchilla Miranda | 2010-2014 | Born in Spain. 1st First Gentleman of Costa Rica |
| Mercedes Peñas Domingo | Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera | 2014-2018 | Born in Spain. Peñas and Solis are not married.[4] |
| Claudia Dobles Camargo | Carlos Alvarado Quesada | 2018-2022 | |
1. ^1 2 3 4 5 {{cite news|first=Mauricio|last=Lopez G.|title=Primera Dama de la República: Leila Rodríguez, servidora a tiempo completo |url=http://wvw.nacion.com/ln_ee/2003/diciembre/01/pais2.html |work=La Nación (San José) |date=2003-12-01 |accessdate=2016-07-29}}
2. ^1 {{cite news|first=|last=|title=American Girl and Costa Rican President Wed |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1755&dat=19540208&id=lSAhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0mQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1370,1466860&hl=en |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |date=1954-02-08 |accessdate=2016-07-23}}
3. ^{{cite news|first=|last=|title=Costa Rica Will Have a Jewish First Lady with the Inauguration of Luis Alberto Monge to the President |url=http://www.jta.org/1982/04/20/archive/costa-rica-will-have-a-jewish-first-lady-with-the-inauguration-of-luis-alberto-monge-to-the-presiden |work=Jewish Telegraph Agency |date=1982-04-20 |accessdate=2016-06-13}}
4. ^{{cite news|first=|last=|title=Meet Costa Rica's future First Lady, Mercedes Peñas Domingo |url=http://insidecostarica.com/2014/04/15/meet-costa-ricas-future-first-lady-mercedes-penas-domingo/ |work=Inside Costa Rica |date=2014-04-15 |accessdate=2016-06-14}}
{{First Ladies and Gentlemen}}