Laura Chinchilla

46th President of Costa Rica

Laura Chinchilla Miranda (born 28 March 1959)[1] served as the President of Costa Rica from 2010 to 2014. She is Costa Rica's first female president. She is the sixth woman to be elected president of a Latin American country. She was one of Óscar Arias Sánchez's two vice presidents. She was his administration's Minister of Justice.[2] She was the governing PLN candidate for President in the 2010 general election. She won with 46.76% of the vote.[3]

Laura Chincilla
President of Costa Rica
In office
8 May 2010 – 8 May 2014
Vice PresidentAlfio Piva
Preceded byÓscar Arias
Succeeded byLuis Guillermo Solís
Personal details
Born
Laura Chinchilla Miranda

(1959-03-28) 28 March 1959 (age 65)
San José, Costa Rica
Political partyNational Liberation Party
Spouse(s)José María Rico (2000–2019; his death)
Children1 son
Alma materUniversity of Costa Rica
Georgetown University

Personal life

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Chinchilla was born in Carmen Central, San José in 1959. Her father was Rafael Ángel Chinchilla Fallas. He was a former comptroller of Costa Rica.[source?] Her mother was Emilce Miranda Castillo. She married Mario Alberto Madrigal Díaz on 23 January 1982 and divorced on 22 May 1985. She had a son in 1996 with José María Rico Cueto, a Spanish lawyer who has a Canadian citizenship; Chinchilla married him on 26 March 2000.[4] He died in April 2019, aged 84.[5]

Political career

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Chinchilla graduated from the University of Costa Rica. She received her master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University.[6][7] Before politics, Chinchilla worked as a NGO consultant in Latin America and Africa. She specialized in judicial reform and public security. She served in the José María Figueres Olsen administration as vice-minister for public security (1994–1996) and minister of public security (1996–1998).

From 2002 to 2006, she served in the National Assembly as a deputy for the province of San José.[8]

Chinchilla was one of two vice-presidents elected under the second Arias administration (2006–2010). She resigned the vice-presidency in 2008 in order to prepare her run for the presidency in 2010. On 7 June 2009 she won the Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) primary with a 15% margin over her nearest rival, and was thus endorsed as the party's presidential candidate.

Her term ended in 8 May 2014.

References

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  1. de Miguel, Veronica (14 August 2012). "Laura Chinchilla: Is honesty enough for Costa Rica?". VOXXI. Archived from the original on 5 February 2013. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  2. "Chiefs of State and Cabinet members of Foreign Governments". The Central Intelligence Agency of America. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  3. "2010 Presidential election results" (in Spanish). Supreme Court of Elections. 8 February 2010. Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  4. "Costa Rican electoral register (name search)". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, República de Costa Rica. 8 May 2010. Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2010.
  5. "Muere José María Rico, esposo de la expresidenta Laura Chinchilla".
  6. "Costa Rica elects first female president, Georgetown grad Laura Chinchilla". Vox Populi, Georgetown's blog of record. 8 February 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  7. "Costa Rica elects first woman president, inspiring the region". The Christian Science Monitor. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  8. "Laura Chinchilla Miranda's curriculum vitae on her Facebook page". Laura Chinchilla Miranda. Retrieved 2010-05-09.
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