Costa Rica elected its first ever female president in a landslide Wednesday in a region where female heads of state are becoming a common phenomenon.

Laura Chinchilla of the ruling National Liberation Party won nearly 47 percent of the vote and will take office on May 8, 2010. The 50-year-old Chinchilla received a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University and was one of two vice-presidents serving the current administration led by Nobel peace laureate Óscar Arias.
Chinchilla will become the fifth female leader in Latin America over the past 20 years, following Argentina’s Cristina Kirchner (2007), Chile’s Michelle Bachelet (2006), Panama’s Mireya Moscoso (1999) and Nicaragua’s Violeta Chamorro (1990).
Costa Rica also joins a long list of countries currently led by women, including Canada, India, Ireland, Argentina, Chile, Lithuania, the Philippines, Finland and Liberia.
¡Felicidades, Madama Presidente!