Laura Chinchilla

Laura Chinchilla Miranda (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.

Her father is Rafael Ángel Chinchilla Fallas, who served as comptroller of Costa Rica from 1972 to 1987, and maintained general popularity among the public.

Her mother is Emilce Miranda Castillo.

She attended the University of Costa Rica where she obtained a degree in political science, and she then attended Georgetown University in the United States for a master's degree in public policy.

She then returned to Costa Rica to work as a policy consultant for security and judicial reform.

Chinchilla married Mario Alberto Madrigal Díaz on 23 January 1982.

They divorced on 22 May 1985.

Chinchilla met her second husband, José María Rico Cueto, a Spanish lawyer who held Canadian citizenship, in 1990 while both were working as consultants for the Center for the Administration of Justice at the Florida International University in Miami, Florida.

The couple had a son, José María Rico Chinchilla, in 1996.

Chinchilla married Rico on 26 March 2000.

Chinchilla's marital history and the child she had out of wedlock did not significantly affect her political life—despite the country's significant Catholic population—due to a culture in Costa Rican politics of avoiding personal attacks.

Chinchilla became the Vice Minister of Public Security under President José María Figueres.

Figueres then appointed her Minister of Public Security, and she became the first woman to hold the position.

She was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica in 2002.

Chinchilla became the First Vice President of Costa Rica in 2006, also taking the position of Minister of Justice and Peace.

She held these positions until 2008, when she resigned to run for President of Costa Rica in the 2010 general election.

Chinchilla's presidential campaign was unexpected, as she was not a prominent member of her political party, the National Liberation Party, and she had previously given little indication of an interest in the presidency.

Commentators have credited President Óscar Arias with mentoring her for the presidency.

During her campaign, she benefited from an image that she was an outsider while still representing political continuity from Arias's administration.

Chinchilla's opponents accused her of being "a puppet of Arias", with one campaign advertisement depicting her as a marionette in his hands.

She and her allies criticized double standards related to her gender, such as an increased focus on her wardrobe and suggestions that she was weaker.

Chinchilla campaigned on the issues of social welfare, economic competitiveness, environmental protection, and domestic security.

She used the slogan firme y honesta (firm and honest), suggesting both a strong criminal policy and an anti-corruption platform, both of which were significant priorities for the public.

She did not explicitly campaign on women's issues so as not to alienate voters, instead promoting issues that benefited families.

Major campaign promises included the construction of 20,000 low-income housing units, a reduction of the unemployment rate from 7.8% to 5.0%, and switching the nation to 95% renewable resources.

She also spoke of improving infrastructure, child care, and law enforcement.

In the National Liberation Party's primary election, Chinchilla won with a 15% margin over the runner up, in part due to Arias's endorsement of her candidacy.

During the general election, Chinchilla's main opponents were Ottón Solís of the Citizens' Action Party and Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement.

She won with approximately 47% of the vote, with Solís and Guevara splitting much of the rest between them.

Chinchilla had stronger support among women and the elderly.

Her personality, her campaign strategy, and her womanhood were all represented as reasons for support in voter surveys.

Despite this, Chinchilla did not emphasize her gender during her campaign, instead campaigning on ideas of the traditional family.

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.

Laura Chinchilla was born in the Desamparados district of San José, the oldest child of her family with three younger brothers.