High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Rafael Ángel del Socorro Calderón Guardia was the president of Costa Rica from 1940 to 1944. 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 Costa Rica. After finishing his studies, Calderón became a practicing physician, which he would remain for most of his early career. In 1940, with the support of conservative coffee elites, Calderón was elected President of Costa Rica. Prior to Calderón, Costa Rican Presidents, while democratically elected, had largely supported the interests of the conservative coffee oligarchy.