Laura Fernandez Delgado

Laura Virginia Fernandez Delgado, born July 4, 1986, in Puntarenas, is a political scientist who has served as the 50th President of Costa Rica since May 8, 2026, only the second woman to hold the office after Laura Chinchilla. She studied politics and democratic governance at the University of Costa Rica and began her public-service career in 2008 as a consultant on state reform for the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy, later serving in the Legislative Assembly from 2014 to 2018 on fiscal and administrative matters. Under President Rodrigo Chaves Robles she served as Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy from 2022 to 2025 and Minister of the Presidency from 2024 to 2025, resigning both posts on January 31, 2025 to seek the presidency herself. Running as the candidate of the Sovereign People's Party and presenting herself as a continuation of Chaves's populist agenda, she won the February 2026 election decisively with 48.3 percent of the vote.