Health Care Tradition in Costa Rica
Carlos Alvarado Quesada (born in San José, 1980) was the forty-eighth President of the Republic of Costa Rica (2018-2022). Under his leadership, Costa Rica contributed to global efforts to combat climate change, defended human rights, democracy, and multilateralism. His ambitious decarbonization plan for Costa Rica (2019), his climate policies, and the successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely recognized.
In 2019, he was named one of TIME magazine's "100 Next" leaders, recognizing emerging leadership from around the world that is shaping the next generation. In 2022, he received the Planetary Leadership Award from the National Geographic Society for his outstanding commitment and action in ocean protection. His administration carried out a series of historic reforms that strengthened the Costa Rican economy and completed the process for Costa Rica to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), making it the fourth Latin American country to do so and the first in Central America.