Laura Chinchilla

Laura Chinchilla Miranda was the first female president of Costa Rica, serving from 2010 to 2014.

Chinchilla was born on March 28, 1959, in San Jose, Costa Rica. She graduated from the University of Costa Rica and received a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University.

Prior to entering politics, Chinchilla was an NGO consultant in Latin America and Africa, specializing in judicial reform and public security issues. As a consultant, she conducted assessments of the justice sector for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), coordinated studies and projects on judicial reform for the United Nations Program for Development (UNDP) and provided advice regarding police reform to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She has also spoken at various international forums on matters of public security and police reform. She has served on various reform initiatives that promote citizen security and human rights throughout Latin America, such as the Project Advisory Committee of Civil Society and Public Safety for the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Central American Dialogue Foundation Arias for Peace and Human Progress and the Foundation for Peace and Democracy (FUNPADEM).

Chinchilla served as Costa Rica's vice-minister for public security (1994 to 1996) and minister of public security (1996 to 1998). She was also chairman of the Joint Drug Intelligence Center; chair of the National Immigration Council; and a member of the National Drug Council, National Security Council and Academic Council of the National Police Academy. From 2002 to 2006, she served in the National Assembly as a deputy for the province of San José. Chinchilla served as vice-president and minister of justice from 2006 to 2008. She left office to prepare for a run for the presidency, and won the 2009 election. She was sworn into office on May 8, 2010.

Sources:

Campbell, H. (n.d.). "Laura Chinchilla" Britannica. Retrieved September 26, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Laura-Chinchilla

Council of women world leaders (n.d.). "Laura Chinchilla Miranda" Council of women world leaders. Retrieved September 26, 2022. https://www.councilwomenworldleaders.org/laura-chinchilla-miranda.html