Laura Chinchilla

Laura Chinchilla
Official portrait, c. 2010
46th President of Costa Rica
In office
8 May 2010 – 8 May 2014
Vice PresidentAlfio Piva
Luis Liberman
Preceded byÓscar Arias
Succeeded byLuis Guillermo Solís
First-Vice President of Costa Rica
In office
8 May 2006 – 8 October 2008
PresidentÓscar Arias
Preceded byLineth Saborío Chaverri
Succeeded byAlfio Piva
President pro tempore of CELAC
In office
28 January 2014 – 8 May 2014
Preceded byRaúl Castro
Succeeded byLuis Guillermo Solís
Minister of Justice and Grace
In office
8 May 2006 – 8 October 2008
PresidentÓscar Arias
Preceded byPatricia Vega Herrera
Succeeded byViviana Martín Salazar
Minister of Public Security
In office
30 March 2008 – 14 April 2008
PresidentÓscar Arias
Preceded byFernando Berrocal Soto
Succeeded byJanina del Vecchio Ugalde
In office
12 November 1996 – 8 May 1998
PresidentJosé María Figueres
Preceded byBernardo Arce Gutiérrez
Succeeded byJuan Rafael Lizano Sáenz
Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica
In office
1 May 2002 – 30 April 2006
Preceded byGuido Monge Fernández
Succeeded byEvita Arguedas Maklouf
ConstituencySan José (13th Office)
Vice Minister of Public Security
In office
8 May 1994 – 12 November 1996
PresidentJosé María Figueres
Succeeded byÓscar Albán Chipsen
Personal details
BornLaura Chinchilla Miranda
(1959-03-28) 28 March 1959
PartyNational Liberation Party (until 2022)
Independent (2022-present)
Spouses
  • Mario Alberto Madrigal Díaz
    (m. 1982; div. 1985)
  • (m. 2000; died 2019)
Children1
Alma mater
Signature
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Laura Chinchilla Miranda (Spanish: [ˈlawɾa tʃinˈtʃiʝa miˈɾanda]; born 28 March 1959) is a Costa Rican political scientist and politician who served as President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two Vice-Presidents and his administration's Minister of Justice. She was the governing PLN candidate for president in the 2010 general election, where she won with 46.76% of the vote on 7 February. She was the eighth woman president of a Latin American country and the first woman to become President of Costa Rica. She was sworn in as President of Costa Rica on 8 May 2010.

After leaving office, she taught at Georgetown University in 2016. Chinchilla is co-chair of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank and the vice-president of Club de Madrid. Chinchilla previously served as a Fellow at the Georgetown Institute of Politics and Public Service.