Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez (December 29, 1925 – November 29, 2016) was the President of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

from 1982 to 1986. He also served as Costa Rica's first Ambassador to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

from 1963 until 1966.

Biography

Early and personal life

Monge was born on December 29, 1925, in Palmares,

Alajuela Province Alajuela () is a Provinces of Costa Rica, province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north. It also borders the provinces of Heredia Province, Heredia to the east, San Jose Province, ...

, to Gerardo Monge Quesada and Elisa Álvarez Vargas. He married his first wife, Flora Rojas Alvarez, on March 9, 1946, but the marriage was dissolved in January 1960. Luis and Flora had 5 children: Flora, Myriam, Luis Alberto, Jorge, and Alfredo. He met his second wife, Doris Yankelewitz Berger, while both were attending a luncheon at the University of Costa Rica. At the time, Yankelewitz was a college student while Monge was serving as Ambassador to Israel. Monge and Yankelewitz married at a ceremony in San José on November 25, 1965. They had one daughter, Lena. Monge and Yankelewitz later separated at the end of his presidency in 1986. The couple divorced in June 1988.

Career

Before becoming President in 1982, Monge served as Costa Rica's first ambassador to Israel from 1963 to 1966 and was one of the founding members of the National Liberation Party (PLN) in 1951. He was also named a deputy in the Legislative Assembly, at age 24, making him one of the youngest to have reached such rank. He was the President of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica from 1973 to 1974.Legislative Assembly Official website
/ref> Monge inherited an impoverished and distraught nation. The biggest issues his presidency dealt with were: the unmanageable economic crisis, the mounting foreign debt and the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

- Contra crisis involving

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, the

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and Costa Rica's northern border region. In dealing with the country's economic situation, he began austere programs on public spending, eliminated many government subsidies to various activities and promoted exports and receptive tourism. He eliminated export and production taxes. Monge also reformed monetary law, and forced all foreign currencies to go through the national bank system. A lot of his efforts paid off, reducing inflation and unemployment. During Monge's term, Costa Rica declared an alignment with all "western democracies" and began to work closely with the governments of

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

and

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, while its relationship with Nicaragua continued to deteriorate. By then, the

was involved in suppressing further socialist revolts in the region and saw Costa Rica as a stable ally in which to base their operations against Nicaragua's Sandinista government. The U.S. imposed a commercial embargo against Nicaragua, facilitating the deepening of the rift between Costa Rica and its northern neighbor. Unwillingly, Costa Rica became too involved in the United States' struggle to topple the Sandinistas and in an attempt to pull away, proclaimed Costa Rica as an active, neutral nation. With Costa Rica still in the midst of a terrible economic recession, Monge opted to exchange sovereignty for economic stability: he gave in to pressure from the United States and accepted American financial assistance in exchange for allowing the CIA to set up small "unofficial" strategic outposts along the northern border. Shortly after becoming President, Monge traveled to Israel, where, without knowing about the United Nations Security Council Resolution 478, he raised the national flag on Costa Rica's embassy building in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. He defined his actions as "exercising sovereignty".

Death

On November 29, 2016, Monge suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest at his home in Santa Ana. He was rushed to the San Juan de Dios hospital, where he was declared dead aged 90.

References

External links

*
Biography on the PLN website
*
Biography by CIDOB Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monge, Luis Alberto 1925 births 2016 deaths People from Palmares (canton) National Liberation Party (Costa Rica) politicians 20th-century presidents of Costa Rica Presidents of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica Ambassadors of Costa Rica to Israel People of the Costa Rican Civil War Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic