Laura Virginia Fernández Delgado (born 4 July 1986) is a Costa Rican politician and political scientist. Fernández is the president-elect of Costa Rica after winning the 2026 general election as the presidential candidate of the Sovereign People's Party. She previously served as the minister of national planning and economic policy from 2022 to 2025 as well as the minister of the presidency from 2024 to 2025. == Early life == Fernández was born on 4 July 1986 in Puntarenas, Costa Rica. She studied public politics and democratic governability at the University of Costa Rica. == Political career == From 2008 to 2010, Fernández was a consultant for the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy's State Reform Program as a member of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GIZ). She became a civil servant in the ministry in 2010 and served as a modernization and dispatch advisor until 2014. Fernández was an advisor to the Legislative Assembly from 2014 to 2018 on matters regarding public spending, finance, income, and government reforms. During the 2018 presidential election, Fernández was one of Mario Redondo's vice presidential candidates. In 2018, Fernández became a researcher for the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy. She researched government cooperation, public employment, and administrative reform. She was briefly the director of strategic planning for the municipality of Cartago from 2020 to 2021 before resuming her role as a researcher for the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy. On 8 May 2022, President Rodrigo Chaves Robles appointed Fernández as the minister of national planning and economic policy. Chaves also appointed Fernández as Minister of the Presidency on 21 June 2024, succeeding Natalia Díaz Quintana. On 11 July 2024, she signed a decree establishing 30 July as a day to commemorate women's suffrage in Costa Rica. On 31 January 2025, Fernández resigned from her ministerial positions to be eligible to run as a presidential candidate in the 2026 presidential election. == President-elect of Costa Rica == On 29 July 2025, Fernández officially announced her presidential candidacy as a member of the Sovereign People's Party (PPSO). She presented herself as a continuation of Chaves's presidency, as Chaves is term limited, and as a supporter of Chavism. Fernández was one of 20 presidential candidates and one of five female candidates. She was elected president with 48.3% of the vote. On 2 February 2026, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated Fernández in a press statement, "Under her leadership, we are confident Costa Rica will continue to advance shared priorities to include combatting narco-trafficking, ending illegal immigration to the United States, promoting cybersecurity and secure telecommunications, and strengthening economic ties." Fernández will be sworn in on 8 May 2026 as the second female president of Costa Rica after Laura Chinchilla. Supporting a "Third Republic" in Costa Rica, she has pledged to reform the government, fight corruption, expand free enterprise, and promote trade, in addition to strengthening Costa Rica's relations with Israel. == See also == List of female presidents in Latin America == References ==