Laura Chinchilla was the first woman to be elected president of Costa Rica (2010-2014). She has a long and distinguished record in public service. Previously, Laura Chinchilla was First Vice President of Costa Rica and Minister of Justice (2006-2008). She also served as member of the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly (2002-2006), Minister of Security (1996-1998) and Vice-Minister of Security (1994-1996). During her political career, Laura Chinchilla prompted police and justice reform measures to tackle crime and violence, digital and open government, the promotion of women's rights, and early childhood protection. She also promoted environmental sustainability policies, especially on preserving marine biodiversity, for which she was distinguished with international awards.


Laura Chinchilla has also extensive experience working as a consultant in Latin America and Africa for various international agencies in the area of institutional reform, with special emphasis on judicial reform and public security reform. Some of her work in consultancy led her to conduct assessments of the justice sector for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the coordination of studies and projects on judicial reform for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and assessments and advice on police reform for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

She has written and published extensively on judicial reform, police reform and crime prevention. She has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Georgetown University and has taught at the Institute of Politics and Public Policy of Georgetown University (USA), the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (México), and the Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil).