[8] Laura Chinchilla was born in the Desamparados district of San José, the oldest child of her family with three younger brothers.

[9] Her father is Rafael Ángel Chinchilla Fallas, who served as comptroller of Costa Rica from 1972 to 1987, and maintained general popularity among the public.

[10]: 68  Major campaign promises included the construction of 20,000 low-income housing units, a reduction of the unemployment rate from 7.8% to 5.0%, and switching the nation to 95% renewable resources.

[12]: 16 In the National Liberation Party's primary election, Chinchilla won with a 15% margin over the runner up, in part due to Arias's endorsement of her candidacy.

[10]: 57  During the general election, Chinchilla's main opponents were Ottón Solís of the Citizens' Action Party and Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement.

It attempted to reelect Luis Gerardo Villanueva as the assembly's president in violation of procedure, resulting in Juan Carlos Mendoza García of the Citizen's Action Party taking the position.

[10]: 105  One year into her term, Chinchilla rejected Mendoza's proposal to raise congressional pay, causing the coalition government to break down.

[10]: 118  This dispute caused legislators in the National Liberation Party to split into factions, with Arias supporters demanding changes in Chinchilla's administration.

Chinchilla responded by writing a criticism of the action in the Miami Herald and seeking adjudication from the International Court of Justice.

The court ordered both nations to evacuate the island in March 2011, and her response to the incident is often considered a high point of her presidency.

[10]: 106 By mid-2011, President Chinchilla decided to build a 160 kilometer gravel road along the river, as a response to what she and her government saw as a Nicaraguan invasion of Costa Rican territory.

The road was officially named “Ruta 1858, Juan Rafael Mora Porras” to honor a Costa Rican hero in a show of national pride.

The Ministerio Publico (Costa Rican attorney general) announced an official inquiry about the charges of corruption.

[10]: 92 In 2013, the Mexican opinion poll firm Consulta Mitofsky released a survey that placed Chinchilla as the least popular president in Latin America with a 13% approval rate, just behind Porfirio Lobo of Honduras.

Public debt had reached 50% of GDP, unemployment was steadily rising and, despite high annual growth, 20% of the population lived below the poverty line.

Costa Rica only had limited petroleum operations, but the move was met with extended legal challenges from energy companies.

[27] One of Chinchilla's first actions upon taking office was to restore a ban on open-pit gold mining, which had been a subject of controversy in Arias's presidency.

[2][failed verification] Chinchilla continued the Avancemos program that Arias had established in 2006 to give financial support to families in extreme poverty as their children progress in school.

[10]: 234 After leaving office, Chinchilla joined Arias and other Latin American figures in a joint statement supporting the Cuban thaw and demanding democracy in Cuba.

The program involved many organizations, such as the Joint Social Welfare Institute, CEN-CINAI PANI, local governments, community NGOs, and churches.

[29] Chinchilla opposed separation of church and state in Costa Rica, wishing to retain its status as a Roman Catholic nation.

Chinchilla currently teaches at Georgetown University[7] at the Institute of Politics and Public Service and is also the titular of the Cathedra José Bonifácio, at the University of São Paulo, since 2018,[33] and leads the Latin American Chair of Citizenship in the School of Government and Public Transformation of the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education.

[34] Since 2016, Chinchilla has been serving as the president of the Advisory Council of She Works, a company focused on the empowerment of women;[35] and is also a rapporteur for the freedom of expression of the Telecommunications Organization of Latin America.

[37] Shortly before the vote, she dropped her bid, arguing that the process favored U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee Mauricio Claver-Carone.

[52] She has several publications, in Spanish and English—books, monographs and articles—on issues related to the administration of justice, citizen security, and police reform.