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Overview

This small Central American country has a history of relative political stability, supported in part by a tradition of egalitarianism, strong democratic practices and constitutionally mandated neutrality. Costa Rica generally enjoys higher living standards, literacy rates and other development indicators relative to its neighbors. However, despite strong nationalist identifications with a unique heritage and political system, Costa Rica has many economic, social and environmental issues common with its neighbors.

Costa Rica managed to navigate the Latin American debt crisis while protecting some fundamental social security nets and preserving a strong role for government. However, many see the tide turning with its recent signing of CAFTA, which furthers U.S. plans for trade liberalization and privatization in the region. Within the country, opposition to a referendum to approve the agreement (a central debate in Costa Rica’s 2006 presidential elections) was widespread, but voters passed the bill by a thin margin 51%-48%.

In recent decades, Costa Rica has diversified its export economy, traditionally based on banana and coffee cash crops, to include technology and tourism industries. Rich environmental resources and significant National Protected Areas also make it an attractive ecotourism destination.

In contrast to its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica’s population is largely of European descent.

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Basic Information

Lay of the Land: Costa Rica, “the Switzerland of Central America,” lies between Panama and Nicaragua and has both a Pacific and a Caribbean coast. Between the coastal lowlands is a volcanic mountain range with peaks over 12,000 feet high. Costa Rica's Pacific coastline is deeply indented with bays and river outlets. In the mountain plateaus, the weather is spring-like all year; the lowlands, however, are steamy and tropical.

Population: 4.2 million

Religions: Catholic (practicing) 47.2%, Catholic (non-practicing) 27.3%, Protestant 12.8%, Chinese Universalist 0.5%, Baha'i 0.3%, Ethnoreligious 0.2%, Jewish 0.15, Spiritist 0.1%, non-religious 9.2%.

Ethnic Groups: white (majority) and mestizo 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%. In contrast to its Central American neighbors, Costa Rica’s population is largely of European descent. Nicaraguans, primarily of Mestizo descent, make up about 10%-15% of the population, and an English-speaking minority of Jamaican immigrant workers accounts for about 3% of the population. According to the U.S. State Department, little of the indigenous population survived Spanish conquest, and today accounts for about 1% of the population (about 29,000 people).

Languages: Spanish 83.5%, Limón Creole English 1.4%, Bribri 0.2%, Cabécar 0.2%, other (Boruca, Plautdietsch, Teribe, Maléku Jaíka) 0.01%.

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History

While human history in Costa Rica goes back an estimated 10,000 years, the territory was sparsely populated until colonization. Columbus arrived on his fourth and last trip in 1502, and settlement began twenty years later, after much of the surrounding territories had already been colonized.

Now among the richest and most developed Central American countries, this small territory was optimistically dubbed “Rich Coast” by the Spaniards who colonized it in 16th century. However, a paucity of gold or other exploitable riches led to the development of a successful agrarian society and prosperous banana and coffee export economy in the 19th century.

Central America gained independence from Spain in 1821, with Costa Rica absorbed into the Mexican Empire, and then into the federal Central American Union. The nation finally proclaimed its sovereignty and independence in 1938.

In 1948 a brief civil war led to the prohibition of military governments, and the country does not have a military (but rather, other services such as police and coast guard that account for national security forces). However, since 1994 Costa Rica has had a secret police force, which operates directly under the president and is free to put private citizens under surveillance. Some claim the lack of transparency goes against the country’s professed democratic principles.

Controversy Over Costa Rican National Intelligence Policies (Costa Rica Pages)

Costa Rica fared relatively well, in some respects, in regard to its neighbors during the Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s. In order to satisfy creditors and continue receiving vital aid from global organizations, countries were forced to open their markets to foreign investment and trade, roll back public spending including on vital social programs, devalue their respective currencies and privatize other major industries such as banking.

With soaring import prices and sunken export earnings, Costa Rica’s limited agricultureal export-based economy (mostly coffee and bananas), was ill-equipped for the 1980 oil shock and subsequent global stagflation. Interest on foreign debt rose dramatically, with the IMF and other international lenders capitalizing on developing countries’ desperation. In 1983, pressure from the banks forced Costa Rica to clamp down on public spending. The country’s cumulative debt had doubled to $4 billion by the mid-1980s–an amount equal to its GNP. While the small country, known for a strong egalitarian and democratic tradition, was able to keep development indictors high during the crisis, per capita income growth slipped 1.2% from 1980 to 1986. In 1986, the new president, Óscar Arias, implemented a major policy shift, refusing to cooperate with the banks and formally suspending (defaulting on) regular interest payments (at that time equal to 8% of GNP), with future payments contingent upon the availability of foreign exchange and the country’s ability to meet its own growth requirements.

While other nations suspended interest payments, Costa Rica is credited with “putting the lending institutions on the defense.” Costa Rica continued economic reform (rolling back public spending, raising taxes and lowering tariffs) but withheld interest payments…and the IMF dropped its requirements that it pay its creditors in order to receive aid.

Despite the fact that the country was able to keep the highest development standards in Central America, its real minimum wage and poverty rate have remained more or less stagnant since the crisis. While most state-owned enterprises were privatized, many elements of basic infrastructure–transportation, water, telecommunications, and energy–have remained under control of the state. The implementation of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), is expected to change this.

Economic Scene; Costa Rica's Debt Message (by Peter Passell, New York Times)

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Costa Rica's Newspapers

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History of U.S. Relations with Costa Rica

Relations between the United States and Costa Rica have historically been close and friendly, circumventing much of the surrounding turmoil of controversial U.S. military and economic policies in the region. Costa Rica has mostly supported U.S. policies; it broke ties with Cuba in 1961 and has been a critical force in bringing U.S. neoliberal economic reform to Central America.

Although Costa Rica is not currently a major aid recipient, the U.S. invested $1.1 billion in trade liberalization-oriented development schemes through USAID in the 1980s. During the 1990s USAID focused on “democratic practices,” and then closed its office in 1996.

Costa Rica - U.S. Relations (United States Embassy in Costa Rica)

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Current U.S. Relations with Costa Rica

Former President Abel Pacheco supported the U.S. invasion in Iraq, despite traditional (constitutional) neutrality, while former President Arias, who came to power again in 2006, was a strong vocal critic of the war.

There are 68,588 Costa Ricans living in the U.S. The largest populations are in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami.

An estimated 30,000–50,000 private U.S. citizens live in Costa Rica, and an average of 700,000 visit the country each year. The number American tourists has risen rapidly in recent years, up 73.2% from the 422,215 who visited in 2002.

153,835 Costa Ricans traveled to the U.S. in 2006, 6.5% less than in 2005. The number of tourists has fallen consistently since 2002, when 197,159 Costa Ricans came to America.

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Where Does the Money Flow

About 42% of Costa Rica’s land is cultivated for agriculture and livestock, while about 38% is jungle, forest or natural vegetation (National Protected Areas constitute about 22 % of total land area and are an increasing ecotourism draw). Faced with decreasing export value and the liberalizing market reforms of the 1980s, the country shifted its agriculture-export-based economy (coffee and bananas) to include development in other sectors, such as manufacturing. Since the 1990s, tourism has been the second-largest industry, after bananas. Given its political stability, Costa Rica is seen as the most attractive Central American environment for foreign investors.

The Peace Corps has also traditionally had a strong presence in Costa Rica.

The U.S. is Costa Rica’s most important trade partner, accounting for nearly half of its exports, imports and tourism, and more than two-thirds of its foreign investment. In past decades, the U.S. played a central role in economic development in the country, with more than a billion dollars flowing through USAID programs aimed at liberalizing the economy and trade practices. Costa Rica accounts for a significant portion of U.S. CAFTA investment (See Debate).

The United States imported almost $4 billion worth of goods from Costa Rica in 2007. Among the highest values were: fruits and preparations ($839.3 million); scientific and medical equipment ($580.2 million); computer accessories ($412.8 million); cotton goods ($313 million); green coffee ($155.2 million) and electric appliances ($127.4 million). Most of these have seen steady increases since 2003.

U.S. exports to the Central American country totaled a hefty $4.5 billion in 2007, a gradual increase over the past few years. By far the highest-value export in 2007 was semiconductors, at $1 billion. Plastic materials ($222 million), newsprint ($210 million), medical equipment ($135 million), electric apparatuses ($127.7 million), petroleum products ($124 million) are among the highest values and up in recent years. The U.S. also exported $117.6 million in corn–a Costa Rican staple–in 2007.

The U.S. did not give any aid to Costa Rica in 2006. The 2008 budget request increases aid to Costa Rica to $187,000, all of which will be spent on International Military Education and Training.

Imports from Costa Rica

Exports to Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Security Assistance

Congressional Budget for Foreign Operations (page 671-672) (PDF)

Costa Rica top court blocks US trade pact approval (Associated Press)

AMCHAM | Costa Rican - American Chamber of Commerce

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Controversies

CAFTA

Costa Rica CAFTA Opponents Cry Foul on U.S. Intervention in Referendum (by Robert Naiman, Huffington Post)

OAS Corruption Scandal

Scandals Blot Costa Rica’s Sunny Image (by Chris Kraul, Los Angeles Times)

Scandal Plagues Costa Rican Leader, Allies (by Brian Harris, Miami Herald)

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Human Rights

Costa Rica is home to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and was the first country to recognize its jurisdiction.

In its 2007 Country Report on human rights conditions, the U.S. State department found the following: “While the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, the following human rights problems were reported: substantial judicial process delays, particularly in pretrial detention and civil and labor cases; antiquated libel laws and excessive penalties for violations; domestic violence against women and children; child prostitution; and child labor.”

U.S. State Department

Human Rights Watch

Costa Rica: Turn Mario Uribe Over to Colombia (Human Rights Watch)

DR-CAFTA Falls Short on Workers’ Rights (Human Rights Watch)

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Debate

CAFTA

Five Central American leaders signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States in 2004, followed by Puerto Rico. In Costa Rica, the CAFTA referendum was a controversial issue, dividing the populace during a crucial election period.

At issue was the fundamental policy shift signaled by the agreement: a step forward in pro-U.S. trade liberalization for a country that had held out relatively well on its own since the debt crisis and major restructuring campaign of the 1980s. Support for CAFTA means supporting open markets and all the things that go with it, including the rolling back of government funding for social services. Opponents to the treaty sought to maintain government intervention and nationalistic policies.

According to some international human rights observers, the “Yes” campaign in support of the treaty was effected through a top-down, pro-business and pro-government propaganda campaign that used fear and exaggerated figures to persuade voters, while the “No” campaign was a wide, horizontal grass-roots movement.

Fear and Voting in Costa Rica (by Elsa Arismendi, Foreign Policy in Focus)

CAFTA Wins in Razor-Close Costa Rica Vote, (Public Citizen)

Will Costa Rica join Latin America's leftward tide? (by Sara Miller Llana, Christian Science Monitor)

Is CAFTAgood for Costa Rica? Two Views on the CAFTA Referendum (Global Policy Network)

Costa Rica Balks At Free-Trade Pact: Misgivings Could Weaken Support in U.S. Congress For CentralAmerica Deal, (by John Lyons, Wall Street Journal)

Anti-CAFTA

Costa Rica: Why We Reject CAFTA (by Eva Carazo Vargas, Center for International Policy)

Pro-CAFTA

Support for U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement Widespread (US State Department)

Inter-American Development Bank Welcomes Costa Rica's Entry Into New Trade Pact with U.S. (by Eric Green, US Embassy in Costa Rica)

U.S.Official Outlines Importance of U.S.-Central American Trade Agreement (US State Department)

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Past Ambassadors

John Slidell
Appointment: Mar 29, 1853
Note: Commissioned to Central America; declined appointment. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate.

Solon Borland
Appointment: Apr 18, 1853
Note:Commissioned to Central America; did not present credentials in Costa Rica. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Feb 9, 1854.

Mirabeau B. Lamar
Appointment: Jan 20, 1858
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 14, 1858
Termination of Mission: Notified Govt. of Costa Rica by note from Releajo, Nicaragua, May 20, 1859, of termination of his mission
Note: Accredited also to Nicaragua; resident at Managua.

Alexander Dimitry
Appointment: Aug 15, 1859
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 29, 1859
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Apr 27, 1861
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 24, 1860. Accredited also to Nicaragua; resident at Managua.

Charles N. Riotte
Appointment: Jun 8, 1861
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 29, 1861
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Jan 18, 1867
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jul 22, 1861.

Albert G. Lawrence
Appointment: Oct 2, 1866
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 18, 1867
Termination of Mission: Probably presented recall soon after Jun 24, 1868
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 11, 1867.

Thaddeus P. Mott
Note: Not commissioned; nomination withdrawn before the Senate acted upon it.

Jacob B. Blair
Appointment: Jul 25, 1868
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 6, 1868
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Jun 30, 1873.

Charles N. Riotte
Note: Not commissioned; nomination tabled by the Senate.

George Williamson
Appointment: May 17, 1873
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 13, 1873
Termination of Mission: Notified Government of Costa Rica by note from Amapala, Honduras, Jan 31, 1879, that he had resigned
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 10, 1873. Commissioned to "the Central American States" but accredited individually to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; resident at Guatemala.

Cornelius A. Logan
Appointment: Apr 2, 1879
Presentation of Credentials: [Dec 25, 1879]
Termination of Mission: Left San Jose, Apr 17, 1882
Note: Officially recognized on Dec 25, 1879. Commissioned to "the Central American States" but accredited individually to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; resident at Guatemala.

Henry C. Hall
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 22, 1882
Termination of Mission: Promoted to Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
Note:Presented credentials the same day as Minister Resident and as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. Commissioned to "the Central American States" but accredited individually to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua; resident at Guatemala.

Henry C. Hall
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 22, 1882
Termination of Mission: Transmitted recall by note on or shortly before May 16, 1889
Note: Commissioned to "the Central American States" but accredited individually to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua; resident at Guatemala.

Lansing B. Mizner
Appointment: Mar 30, 1889
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 30, 1889
Termination of Mission: Relinquished charge at Guatemala, Dec 31, 1890
Note: Commissioned to "the Central American States" but accredited individually to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua; resident at Guatemala.

Romualdo Pacheco
Appointment: Dec 11, 1890
Presentation of Credentials: May 7, 1891
Termination of Mission: Presented recall, Oct 31, 1891
Note:Commissioned to "the Central American States" but accredited individually to Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua; resident at Guatemala.

Richard Cutts Shannon
Appointment: Aug 8, 1891
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 31, 1891
Termination of Mission: Left Managua, Apr 30, 1893
Note: Also accredited to El Salvador and Nicaragua; resident at Managua. Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 23, 1891.

Lewis Baker
Appointment: Apr 4, 1893
Presentation of Credentials: May 20, 1893
Termination of Mission: Transmitted recall by note about Dec 9, 1897
Note: Also accredited to El Salvador and Nicaragua; resident Managua. Note: Accredited also to El Salvador and Nicaragua; resident at Managua. Transmitted credentials by note from Managua on this date.

William L. Merry
Appointment: Jul 17, 1897
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 15, 1898
Termination of Mission: Recommissioned to a different combination of countries
Note: Commissioned as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and El Salvador; resident at San Jose.

William L. Merry
Appointment: Dec 12, 1907
Termination of Mission: Recommissioned to Costa Rica only
Note: Commissioned as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Nicaragua and Costa Rica; resident at San Jose.

William L. Merry
Appointment: Jul 1, 1908
Presentation of Credentials: Left Costa Rica, Mar 4, 1911
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 10, 1908.

Lewis Einstein
Appointment: Jul 6, 1911
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 3, 1911
Termination of Mission: Left post, Dec 29, 1911

Edward J. Hale
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jun 21, 1913
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 29, 1913
Termination of Mission: Normal relations interrupted, Jan 27, 1917; new Government of Costa Rica still unrecognized by the U.S. when Hale left Costa Rica, Apr 19, 1917

Note: Stewart Johnson was serving as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim when Legation San Jose was closed, Dec 5, 1918. The Legation was reopened Oct 15, 1920 with John F. Martin, Jr., as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim. Walter C. Thurston served in that capacity, Jan 1921–Mar 1922.

Roy T. Davis
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Feb 10, 1922
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 14, 1922
Termination of Mission: Left Costa Rica, Jan 4, 1930

H. F. Arthur Schoenfeld
Appointment: Dec 16, 1929
Note: Did not serve under this appointment.

Charles C. Eberhardt
Appointment: Jan 9, 1930
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 14, 1930
Termination of Mission: Left Costa Rica, Sep 24, 1933

Leo R. Sack
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 17, 1933
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 16, 1933
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 10, 1937
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 15, 1934.

Edward Albright
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 22, 1937
Note: Took oath of office, but died in the U.S. before proceeding to post.

William H. Hornibrook
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jul 2, 1937
Presentation of Credentials: Sep 2, 1937
Termination of Mission: Relinquished charge, Sep 1, 1941

Arthur Bliss Lane
Appointment: Oct 9, 1941
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 27, 1941
Termination of Mission: Left post, Mar 17, 1942

Robert M. Scotten
Appointment: Mar 5, 1942
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 31, 1942
Termination of Mission: Left post, Apr 20, 1943

Fay A. DesPortes
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Mar 27, 1943
Presentation of Credentials: May 20, 1943
Termination of Mission: Left post, Sep 11, 1944

Hallett Johnson
Appointment: Dec 16, 1944
Presentation of Credentials: Feb 14, 1945
Termination of Mission: Left post, May 16, 1947

Walter J. Donnelly
Appointment: Apr 10, 1947
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 27, 1947
Termination of Mission: Left post, Oct 15, 1947

Nathaniel P. Davis
Appointment: Sep 30, 1947
Presentation of Credentials: Jan 31, 1948
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jun 8, 1949
Note:Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 9, 1947.

Joseph Flack
Appointment: Jun 24, 1949
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 13, 1949
Termination of Mission: Left post, Sep 21, 1950

Philip B. Fleming
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 18, 1951
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 20, 1951
Termination of Mission: Left post, Aug 7, 1953

Robert C. Hill
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Oct 23, 1953
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 4, 1953
Termination of Mission: Left post, Sep 10, 1954
Note: Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Jan 26, 1954.

Robert F. Woodward
Appointment: Sep 24, 1954
Presentation of Credentials: Dec 3, 1954
Termination of Mission: Left post, Mar 15, 1958
Note:Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; recommissioned after confirmation on Dec 3, 1954.

Whiting Willauer
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 22, 1958
Presentation of Credentials: May 5, 1958
Termination of Mission: Left post, Apr 17, 1961

Raymond Telles
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 6, 1961
Presentation of Credentials: May 22, 1961
Termination of Mission: Left post, Feb 19, 1967

Clarence A. Boonstra
Appointment: Jan 26, 1967
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 8, 1967
Termination of Mission: Left post, Aug 11, 1969

Walter C. Ploeser
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Apr 8, 1970
Presentation of Credentials: Apr 27, 1970
Termination of Mission: Left post, Apr 13, 1972

Viron P. Vaky
Appointment: Sep 11, 1972
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 17, 1972
Termination of Mission: Left post, Feb 9, 1974

Stanton D. Anderson
Non-career appointee
Note: Not commissioned; nomination of Apr 29, 1974 was not acted upon by the Senate.

Terence A. Todman
Appointment: Dec 18, 1974
Presentation of Credentials: Mar 17, 1975
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 24, 1977

Marvin Weissman
Non-career appointee
Appointment: May 26, 1977
Presentation of Credentials: Jun 28, 1977
Termination of Mission: Left post, Mar 22, 1980

Francis J. McNeil
Appointment: Jun 30, 1980
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 8, 1980
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jun 27, 1983

Curtin Winsor, Jr.
Non-career appointee
Appointment: May 26, 1983
Presentation of Credentials: Jul 14, 1983
Termination of Mission: Left post, Feb 18, 1985

Lewis Arthur Tambs
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Jul 12, 1985
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 1, 1985
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 1, 1987

Deane Roesch Hinton
Appointment: Nov 6, 1987
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 17, 1987
Termination of Mission: Left post, Jan 4, 1990
Note: Hinton was commissioned during a recess of the Senate as Ambassador to Panama, Jan 2, 1990, and presented his credentials there on Jan 9, 1990 (see under Panama).

Note:The following officers served as Chargé d'Affaires ad interim: Robert O. Homme (Mar–Jul 1993), Donald Harrington (Jul–Aug 1993), and Joseph Beceila (Aug 1993–Oct 1994).

Luis Guinot, Jr.
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Aug 2, 1991
Presentation of Credentials: Aug 27, 1991
Termination of Mission: Left post, Mar 1, 1993

Peter Jon de Vos
Appointment: Oct 5, 1994
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 21, 1994
Termination of Mission: Left post, Oct 14, 1997

Thomas J. Dodd
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Oct 14, 1997
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 26, 1997
Termination of Mission: Left post Mar 1, 2001

John J. Danilovich
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Oct 1, 2001
Presentation of Credentials: Oct 10, 2001
Termination of Mission: Left post, June 1, 2004

Mark Langdale
Non-career appointee
Appointment: Oct 12, 2005
Presentation of Credentials: Nov 8, 2005

Termination of Mission: January 1, 2008

Former U.S. Ambassadors to Costa Rica

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Costa Rica's Ambassador to the U.S.

Figueres, Muni

Muni Figueres was appointed as Costa Rica’s Ambassador to the United States in August 2010.

Figueres was born in Costa Rica and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Literature from City College of New York, Cours de Civilisation francaise, La Sorbonne, Paris, and her Master’s degree in Political Science from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.

Between 1982 and 1986, Figueres served as Director of Costa Rica’s Investment and Trade Promotion Agency. In 1986 she was named Minister of Foreign Trade, a position she held until 1988. She subsequently became Special Presidential Trade Representative, her two-year mission being to bolster support in the U.S. Congress for approval of the Caribbean Basin Initiative.

In 1990, Figueres served in Washington, D.C., as the Inter-American Development Bank’s Division Chief for Trade and Integration. She became the organization’s External Relations Advisor in 1992, and remained in that position until 2001, when she joined the board of directors of IDT Telecom.

Figueres is a director of the Council of the Americas, the International Executive Services Corps, Harvard’s SPAU, the Zamorano Agricultural College in Honduras, Costa Rica’s Guanacaste Development Foundation, and the Rock Creek International School.

She is the daughter of former Costa Rican President Jose’ “don Pepe” Hipolito Figueres and his first wife, Henrietta Boggs, an American. Consequently, Muni held joint citizenship. In 2010, she renounced her U.S. citizenship as a prerequisite for accepting the Costa Rica ambassadorship to the United States.

Figueres’s father was Costa Rica’s president for three terms--1948 to 1949, 1953 to 1958, and 1970 to 1974. Figueres’s half-sister Christina is Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and her half-brother, José María, was the president of Costa Rica from 1994 to 1998.

Daughter of Former Costa Rican President Named Ambassador to United States (by Chrissie Long, Tico Times)

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Costa Rica's Embassy Web Site in the U.S.

Costa Rica's Embassy in the U.S.

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Content

Table of Contents
News
Overview
Basic Information
History
Newspapers
History of U.S. Relations with Costa Rica
Current U.S. Relations with Costa Rica
Where Does the Money Flow
Controversies
Human Rights
Debate
Past Ambassadors
Ambassador to the U.S.
Embassy Web Site in the U.S.
Comments
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U.S. Embassy web site

U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica

Day, Sharon

Sharon Day, who until late 2016 served as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC), was nominated by President Donald Trump on June 14, 2017, to be the U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica. Day has no diplomatic experience. But, like Trump, she has a history of media bashing.

Day was born in Texas in 1951. Her mother was a Republican and her father was a Democrat. “We were raised in an Ozzie-and-Harriet-type home where every night you talked about what you did that day,” she told Beth Reinhard of the Miami Herald in 2003. “So there was a lot of politics around the dinner table.” She subsequently lived in Indianapolis, where she was CEO and vice president of Stop Loss International, an underwriting and reinsurance firm founded by her husband, Larry Day.

When the Days sold their business and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1994, Sharon Day immediately became involved in local GOP politics. She became a precinct committeewoman in 1994 and was elected the state committeewoman representing Broward County in September 1996. In 2000, she was a delegate the Republican National Convention. During the Florida recount in the 2000 George W. Bush-Al Gore presidential race, Day oversaw the Broward County ballot counters. Bush’s brother, then-Florida Governor Jeb Bush, then appointed Day to serve on the state’s Committee for Election Reform.

Day was a Florida elector for George W. Bush in 2004. She moved up to national committeewoman representing Florida in 2004 and in 2006 was one of nine members of the site selection committee for the 2008 Republican Convention. As the chairwoman of Florida’s “Women for McCain” and a delegate to the 2008 convention, she called Todd Palin, the husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin “the hottie vote.”

An enthusiastic true believer, Day created miniature John McCain fliers for Republicans to give out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween four days before the 2008 election.

Day was elected the RNC secretary in January 2009 and then became its co-chair in January 2011. She was re-elected as the party’s second in command in 2013 and again in 2015. Day also served on the Broward County Housing Authority board, including a stint as its chairman. She was a member of the Republican Convention Site Selection Committee again, helping to sway the vote for 2012 meeting in Tampa, Florida.

In 2012, the Republican presidential candidate lost women’s vote for the sixth election in a row. Day then spent the next two years traveling around the United States encouraging women to vote Republican.

Day is such an enthusiastic Republican that she named her dog Reagan. In addition, according to Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, Day refuses to buy tickets to see movies made by directors she considers liberal. Instead, she buys tickets to other movies and sneaks into the show she really wants to see.

During a speech to the 2016 Republican National Convention, Day claimed Hillary Clinton “paid women less than the men” in her office. Politifact rated this assertion as “mostly false.” When Trump won the 2016 election, Day was again elector from Florida.

Day, whose husband died on October 23, 2012, has two sons: Aaron Day and Coby Mansell.

-Steve Straehley, David Wallechinsky

To Learn More:

Trump to Nominate South Florida’s Sharon Day as Costa Rica Ambassador (by Alex Daugherty and Franco Ordoñez, Miami Herald)

Sharon Day (Ballotpedia)

South Florida’s Sharon Day, Her Party’s No. 2, is ‘Mrs. Republican’ (by Anthony Man, South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Previous U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica

Haney, Stafford Fitzgerald

On July 8, 2014, President Barack Obama announced the nomination of Stafford Fitzgerald “Fitz” Haney as the U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica, filling a post that has been vacant for more than a year. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was held on July 29. It will be the first diplomatic post for Haney, whose background is in finance and has given substantial amounts of money to Obama’s presidential election campaigns.

Haney was born in 1969 in Nashville, Tennessee, and graduated in 1986 from Naperville (Illinois) Central High School near Chicago.

At his confirmation hearing, Haney paid tribute to his mother, the late Sandra Haney, calling her his hero. “As a young widow with two young children, she left home and family to provide my brother and me with the best education and opportunities she could. Working during the day and going to school at night, she showed us, by her example, that the United States is truly the land of opportunity for those who work hard on a level playing field. She did not have it easy as a single African-American woman raising two children alone in the 1970s, but she never gave up and she knew her sacrifices would allow her children to have a better life.”

Haney attended Washington’s Georgetown University, where he was student body president, earning a B.S. degree in International Economics in 1990 and an M.S. in International Business and Diplomacy in 1991.

Much of Haney’s career was spent in Latin America. His first job out of college was as an assistant brand manager for consumer giant Procter & Gamble in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1993, he moved to Pepsico’s restaurant division, first in San Juan and later as senior marketing manager for Mexico and Central America and marketing director in São Paulo, Brazil. Haney moved to Citibank Mexico in 1997 as vice president of marketing and strategic planning.

Haney left Latin America in 1999 to work in Israel as a senior associate at Israeli Seed Partners, a venture capital firm. While there, he met the woman who would become his wife, Andrea Dobrick. Haney returned to the United States in 2002 to work as director of strategic planning at Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation in New York. In 2006, he was named senior vice president for ethnic consumer products at International Discount Telecommunications, a long-distance and cell phone provider.

In 2007, Haney moved to Pzena Investment Management as principal and director of business development and client services. In 2013, he was made a director of the firm.

Haney donated $30,800 to the Obama Victory Fund for the 2008 election and $75,800 to the group in the 2012 cycle and has given to other Democratic races as well. In December 2013, he was named a member of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council.

Haney was a member of the board of directors of the Foundation for Jewish Culture until it closed in February 2014, and on the board of Ayecha, an organization devoted to Jews of color.

Haney’s language skills should not prove to be a stumbling block at his confirmation. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew and some French. Haney served as a member of the planning board in Englewood, New Jersey, where he lives. He and his wife, who is a rabbi, have four children: Asher, Nava, Eden and Shaia.

-Steve Straehley, David Wallechinsky

To Learn More:

Official Biography

Statement before Sentate Foreign Relations Committee (pdf)