| Cleto González Víquez | |
| Office: | 18th President of Costa Rica |
| Term Start: | May 8, 1906 |
| Term End: | May 8, 1910 |
| Predecessor: | Ascensión Esquivel |
| Successor: | Ricardo Jiménez (first term) |
| Office2: | 26th President of Costa Rica |
| Term Start2: | May 8, 1928 |
| Term End2: | May 8, 1932 |
| Predecessor2: | Ricardo Jiménez (second term) |
| Successor2: | Ricardo Jiménez (third term) |
| Party: | National Union Party |
| Birth Date: | 13 October 1858 |
| Birth Place: | Barva, Heredia, Costa Rica |
| Death Place: | San José, Costa Rica |
| Spouse: | Adela Herrán Bonilla |
| Children: | Odilie, Guillermo, Enrique, Emilia, Fernando, Clemencia, Manuel Antonio, and Adela González Herrán |
| Signature: | Firma de Cleto Gonzalez Viquez.jpg |
| Birth Name: | Cleto de Jesús González Víquez |
Cleto de Jesús González Víquez (13 October 1858 – 23 September 1937) was, on two occasions, the President of Costa Rica, firstly as the 18th president in 1906 and lastly as the 26th president in 1928.[1] González Víquez was born in Barva, Heredia, on October 13, 1858, as the son of Cleto González Pérez and Aurora Víquez Murillo. He was a renowned Costa Rican politician, lawyer, and historian.
He married in 1889 to Adela Herrán Bonilla and died in San José, Costa Rica, on September 23, 1937. González Víquez was given the title of "Benemérito de la Patria" on October 5, 1944.[2]
González Víquez began his political career at a young age. He was a mayor of San José, Secretary of the State of President Bernardo Soto Alfaro, Undersecretary of the Government and Police, among other offices.
He also became president of the College of Lawyers and of the Junta de Caridad de San José (today the Junta de Protección Social).[3]
From 1890 until 1902 he belonged to the opposition party. In 1905 he was elected President of the Republic of Costa Rica for the first time. He governed with a lot of tact, taking into account that he did not have a majority in Congress.
During his second term in office, from 1928 to 1932, González Víquez used Keynesian ideas to stave off further effects of the Great Depression. He increased public spending and ratcheted up public infrastructure projects.[4]
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