Friday, Sep. 16, 2011
Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica
A former Vice President under Nobel laureate Oscar Arias Sánchez, Laura Chinchilla won 47% of the vote in Costa Rica's February 2010 presidential election. In a country increasingly concerned about crime, the center-leftist played up her security experience: she previously served as both Public Security Minister and Justice Minister in the National Liberation Party. A social conservative, she opposes gay marriage, abortion and the legalization of the morning-after pill. She has pledged to continue the probusiness policies of her predecessor by courting international investment and expanding free trade.