List of Chief Justices of Costa Rica
List of Chief Justices (es: Magistrados Presidentes) of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica. Legend:

List of Chief Justices of Costa Rica

Section Title:
Table Section Text: List of Chief Justices (es: Magistrados Presidentes) of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica. Legend:

Chief Justices	Term	Notes

Manuel Barberena	Elected in 1825, refused the position

José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes	1826–1827	Elected in 1825; began term in 1826

Agustín Gutiérrez y Lizaurzábal	1829–1830	Elected in 1829, position ended in 1830 as a new Court was elected according to constitutional reform

Manuel Aguilar Chacón	Elected in 1830, declined

José Sacasa y Méndez	1830–1831	Elected in 1830, resigned in 1831

José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes	1831–1832	Elected in 1831, suspended in 1832

Atanasio Gutiérrez y Lizaurzábal	1832–1833	Elected in 1832, position ended in 1833 as a new Court was elected according to constitutional reform

José Simeón Guerrero de Arcos y Cervantes	1833–1836	Elected in 1833, abandoned in 1836 and Court was dissolved

Luz Blanco y Zamora	1836–1839

Pedro César y Urroz	1839–1841

Luz Blanco y Zamora	1841–1842

José Rafael de Gallegos y Alvarado	Elected in 1842, refused to take office

Nicolás Ulloa Soto	Elected in 1842, refused to take office

Manuel Mora Fernández	1842	Position ended after Coup d'état that year

Ramón Castro y Ramírez	1843–1844

Santos Velázquez y Tinoco	Elected in 1845, refused to take office

Luz Blanco y Zamora	1845–1846

Eusebio Prieto y Ruiz	1846–1847	Appointed by Senate in 1846

Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo	1847–1850	Elected as Court Regent in 1847

Juan Mora Fernández	1850–1854	Regent 1850–1856

Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo	1854–1856

Vicente Herrera Zeledón	1856–1860

José María Castro Madriz	1860–1866

Manuel Alvarado y Barroeta	1866–1868	Interim

José Gregorio Trejos Gutiérrez	1868–1869

Juan José Ulloa Solares	1869–1870	Regent between 1869–1873; Chief Justice after 1870 when the Court was reorganized

José María Castro Madriz	1870–1873

Vicente Sáenz Llorente	1873–1876

Eusebio Figueroa Oreamuno	1876–1878

Miguel Macaya de la Esquina	1878–1880

Rafael Orozco González	1880–1886

José Antonio Pinto Castro	1886–1887	Appointed by Congress 1886–1890; died in office

Vicente Sáenz Llorente	1887–1888	Interim

José Rodríguez Zeledón	1888–1889	Elected to end Pinto's period, resigned in 1889

Vicente Sáenz Llorente	1889–1890	Interim

Ricardo Jiménez Oreamuno	1890–1892	Resigned before time in 1892 due to President Rodríguez's dissolution of Congress

Ramón Carranza Ramírez	1892–1894	Interim

Manuel Vicente Jiménez Oreamuno	1894–1898

José Rodríguez Zeledón	1898–1902

Pedro María León-Páez y Brown	Refused the position

Manuel Vicente Jiménez Oreamuno	1902–1904

Alejandro Alvarado García	1904–1912

Pedro Pérez Zeledón	Refused the position

Alejandro Alvarado García	1912–1915	Resigned one year before ending his term

Benito Serrano Jiménez	1915–1916

Ezequiel Gutiérrez Iglesias	1916–1917

Ascensión Esquivel Ibarra	1917–1920

Nicolás Oreamuno Ortiz	1920–1934

Octavio Béeche Argüello	1934–1935

Luis Dávila Solera	1935–1938

Víctor Guardia Quirós	1938–1945

Enrique Guier Sáenz	1945–1948

José María Vargas Pacheco	1948	May 8–11; Appointed by ruling Junta; resigned soon after

Gerardo Guzmán Quirós	1948–1949	Appointed by ruling Junta

Jorge Guardia Carazo	1949–1955

Fernando Baudrit Solera	1955–1975	Died in office

Fernando Coto Albán	1975–1983

Ulises Odio Santos	1983–1986

Miguel Blanco Quirós	1986–1990

Edgar Cervantes Villalta	1990–1999

Luis Paulino Mora Mora	1999–2013	Died in office

Zarela Villanueva Monge	2013–2017	First female Chief Justice

Carlos Chinchilla Sandí	2017–2018

Fernando Cruz Castro	2018–

Sentence(s)

Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo presided over the Supreme Court of Costa Rica from 1847 to 1850 and from 1854 to 1856.
Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo presided over the Supreme Court of Costa Rica from 1847 to 1850 and again beginning in 1854.
Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo presided over the Supreme Court of Costa Rica from 1847 to 1850 and from 1854.

final_sentence: Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo presided over the Supreme Court of Costa Rica from 1847 to 1850 and from 1854 to 1856.
final_sentence: Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo presided over the Supreme Court of Costa Rica from 1847 to 1850 and again beginning in 1854.
final_sentence: Rafael Ramírez Hidalgo presided over the Supreme Court of Costa Rica from 1847 to 1850 and from 1854.