Notable Costa Ricans: Karen Olsen Beck

‘Notable Costa Ricans‘ is a series of profiles of outstanding characters from the history of the country.

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The first time most Costa Ricans heard the name Karen Olsen Beck was in February 1954, after she surprisingly married then President José Figueres Ferrer and automatically became First Lady for the first time. She would later repeat the title when Figueres Ferrer was re-elected in 1970.

A wire published on February 8, 1954, in the Sarasota Herald Tribune (US) said that the President “was married last night to Miss Rita Karen Olsen, a social worker from Yorktown Heights, NY. The wedding ceremony, which Figueres tried to the last minute to keep secret, was performed by Roman Catholic Archbishop Rubén Odio Herrera.”

That way, the country got to know a true ‘outlier’ in the broadest sense of the word. Born in Copenhagen from Danish parents who were US citizens, she moved back to New York at a very early age. Who would’ve said then that she would have a third citizenship a few years later, when she also became a naturalized Costa Rican citizen?

She met Figueres Ferrer when she was about to finish a master’s degree in Sociology at the University of Columbia. She was young and passionate about human rights, and they clicked almost instantly. She had also studied Social Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, and had always been a social issues enthusiast.

It’s no mystery that they got along so well. By the time they got married, Figueres Ferrer had already abolished Costa Rica’s army, claiming that “the future of mankind cannot include armed forces.” The move was applauded by progressives everywhere and to the day it is something Costa Ricans take pride in.

When they married, Olsen was only 23 years, making her one of the youngest First Ladies in the country’s history. Figueres Ferrer was 47 years old. He lived another 36 years, during which they remained together. Olsen became First Lady for the second time from 1970 to 1974, the second and last presidency of her husband.

The couple had four children: José María, Christiana, Mariano, and Kirsten Figueres Olsen. They have all been public figures, but José María and Christiana more so: the former was President of Costa Rica between 1994 and 1998 and also Presidential candidate in 2022, and the latter is a climate change world leader.

The politics of Karen Olsen Beck

Olsen was a political creature before her marriage. During her youth in the US, she was active in organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Interracial Fellowship, Pan-American Women’s Association, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the American Civil Liberties Union, among others.

It is no surprise that she also became involved in Costa Rican politics. For example, during Figueres’ second presidency, news articles mentioned that she called press conferences on issues such as security and police training, as well as also donating libraries to schools that carried her husband’s name.

She was also a founder of the Costa Rican Youth Association, the National Drug Council, and the National Commission for Indigenous Affairs. Olsen was an avid promoter of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Joint Institute of Social Assistance (IMAS, in Spanish), and the country’s National Park system.

In 1956, she was a Costa Rican delegate at the United Nations General Assembly, where she gave lectures on fair prices and wage rise for underdeveloped countries. In summary, she was a very active First Lady in the two Figueres presidencies, and was always on par with her husband’s politics.

However, her political career didn’t end there. During the presidency of Luis Alberto Monge (1982-1986) she was Ambassador to Costa Rica in Israel. And, after the death of Figueres in 1990 and during the presidency of Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier (1990-1994), she was representative at the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica.

During her son José María Figueres Olsen’s administration (1994-1998), she served as adviser to the president’s office. Figueres Olsen also named her diplomatic representative of Costa Rica in different international bodies.