Who is President Luis Guillermo Solís?

On Thursday, President-elect Luis Guillermo Solís, 56, became Costa Rica’s 47th president.

While Solís has never held elected office before, the president has a served in the Foreign Ministry of several administrations, including from 1986-1990, when he worked with former Foreign Minister Rodrigo Madrigal on the Central American peace plan. From 1994 to 1998 he was Costa Rica’s ambassador for Central American affairs.

He also served as secretary general of the National Liberation Party, which he left in 2005, before joining the Citizen Action Party.

Solís is a graduate of the University of Costa Rica and has a master’s in political science and sociology from Tulane University. With 30 years as an educator, the president has also taught at the University of Michigan, and the University of Florida.

His unmarried partner, Mercedes Peñas Domingo, who is also a political scientist, has worked to strengthen local governments across Central America and will serve as First Lady.

President Solís has six children, Mónica, Cristina, Beatriz, Diego, Ignacio and Inés.

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