Biography

León Cortés Castro (December 8, 1882 – March 3, 1946) served as President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 of Costa Rica

Costa Rica

Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

 from 1936 to 1940.
During his term he introduced new bank reforms, supported banana plantations in the South Pacific region, and established ports at Quepos

Quepos

Quepos is a city in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica. It is served by the Quepos-La Managua airport. It is located at around . It is home to approximately 14,000 people....

 and Golfito

Golfito

This article is about a Costa Rica town. For the ship see TSS Golfito.The port town of Golfito is located in Puntarenas Province on the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, near the border of Panama...

. He was the last of a series of relatively conservative Presidents. He considered changes to allow him to pursue re-election as President, but ultimately backed down due to a Constitutional ban on consecutive terms. He was succeeded by Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia

Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia

Rafael Ángel del Socorro Calderón Guardia was the president of Costa Rica from 1940 to 1944.-Early life:Calderón was born on 10 March 1900 in San José. In his youth, Calderón studied in Costa Rica and Belgium, where he married Yvonne Clays Spoelders, who was later to be the first female diplomat of...

, who ultimately broke with tradition and substantially increased the scope of the social state.
In San José province

San José Province

San José is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the central part of the country, and borders the provinces of Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Limón and Puntarenas. The provincial capital is San José. The province covers an area of 4,965.9 km²...

 there is a canton

León Cortés Canton

León Cortés, also known as León Cortés Castro, is the 20th canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The canton covers an area of . Its estimated population as of 2009 was 13,285...

 that bears his name and, in San José

San José, Costa Rica

San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San...

, a monument to him stands in front of the Costa Rica Art Museum.