Óscar Arias Sánchez

Óscar Arias in May 2006

Óscar Rafael de Jesús Arias Sánchez (born September 13, 1940 in Heredia , Costa Rica ) was President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010. In 1987 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to establish a lasting peace in Central America.

life and work

Early years

In 1987 Óscar Arias Sánchez welcomed Hans-Dietrich Genscher .

Óscar Arias Sánchez was born in 1940 as the son of a plantation owner in Heredia near San José . He attended the local elementary school there and then went to the Franciscan college in Moravia. He then studied economics and law in San José , Essex and London . He received his doctorate from the University of Essex in 1974. On his return to Costa Rica, he taught political science at the University of Costa Rica . During this time he was also the financial advisor to President José Figueres Ferrer .

Political career

During his student days Óscar Arias Sánchez joined the National Liberation Party (PLN). Between 1972 and 1977 he was Minister for Economic Policy under Presidents José Figueres Ferrer and Daniel Oduber Quirós . From 1981 to 1983 he was general secretary of the party. In 1978 , despite the victory of the Christian Social Unity Party (PUSC) of the new President Rodrigo Carazo Odio , he moved into parliament as a member of his constituency and was a member of it until 1982. In 1975 he was appointed secretary for internal affairs by his party.

In 1982 Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez became President of Costa Rica, primarily through the election campaign carried out by Óscar Arias Sánchez. He gave up his post as general secretary in 1984 and decided to run as a presidential candidate in the next elections. In 1986 he won the presidential elections with a clear majority, as he represented the hope for an economic upswing in the country. He became the youngest president of the country and wanted to distinguish himself above all in the democratization processes, the fight against corruption , the economic upswing and peacekeeping.

At the Central American summit on August 7, 1987 in Esquipulas , he presented the so-called Arias Sánchez Plan, which aimed to secure long-term peace for Central America. The plan met with approval and was signed alongside it by the heads of state of Honduras , Nicaragua , El Salvador and Guatemala . They undertook to hold national peace-keeping talks within their countries, to cease supporting guerrilla troops in neighboring countries, to manifest basic democratic rights and to enable free elections in order to pacify the entire region and promote it economically. In the same year Arias Sánchez received the Nobel Peace Prize for these plans.

In 1990 he resigned from his post, but subsequently used his political fame to further advance the peace process. He won the presidential election on February 5, 2006 again. His new term lasted from May 8, 2006 to May 8, 2010. His party colleague Laura Chinchilla was succeeded .

In 2009 he campaigned intensively for mediation after the military coup in Honduras .

literature

• Bernhard Kupfer: Lexicon of Nobel Prize Winners. Patmos-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2001, ISBN 3-491-72451-1 .

Web links

Commons : Óscar Arias Sánchez  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Information from the Nobel Foundation on the award ceremony in 1987 to Óscar Arias Sánchez (English)
• Official website (Spanish)
• Arias Foundation for Peace and Progress (Fundación Arias; Spanish / English)
• Oscar Arias, Latin America's Shift to the Center ( Washington Post , March 15, 2006)
• Michael A. Weinstein, Costa Rica Polarizes in a Leftward Shift (PINR, March 17, 2006)
• Oscar Arias: Harsh words for the US from a voice for peace and prosperity (Reproduced from an article by Kitty Felde, " Los Angeles Times ", February 20, 2000)

predecessor	Office	successor
Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez Abel Pacheco	President of Costa Rica May 8, 1986 - May 8, 1990 May 8, 2006 - May 8, 2010	Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier Laura Chinchilla