SAN JOSE - Laura Fernandez was sworn in on Friday as Costa Rica's president for a four-year term during a ceremony at the National Stadium in San Jose.

Fernandez, 39, received the presidential sash from outgoing President Rodrigo Chaves before a crowd of about 20,000 people, including foreign dignitaries.

She previously served as minister of national planning and economic policy, and later as minister of the presidency.

Running as the candidate of the Sovereign People's Party, she won Costa Rica's presidential election on Feb. 1.

In her first speech as president, Fernandez said her government would fight crime and prevent drug trafficking from infiltrating state institutions. She also announced plans to inaugurate a new "mega-prison" and one of the world's most modern police surveillance centers.