OSCAR ARIAS SÁNCHEZ

 

OSCAR ARIAS SÁNCHEZ (b. 1941)

1987 Nobel Peace Prize-winner and former President of Costa Rica, Arias was recognised for his work brokering peace during civil war in Central America.

Oscar Arias was born in Costa Rica in 1941. When he was a child, Costa Rica became the first country to disband its standing army, allowing it to invest in education, healthcare and the environment.

He studied law and economics in Costa Rica, the United States, and the United Kingdom, eventually receiving a doctorate in economics. He joined the Social Democratic Party and became a member of the government in the 1970s.

Oscar Arias Sánchez won the respect of leaders and humanitarians everywhere for bringing peace to Central America. Elected President of Costa Rica in 1986 amid a civil war in neighbouring Nicaragua, Arias Sánchez immediately put the world on notice that he intended to restore peace in Central America by disentangling the region from the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. His main interest was in trying to restore peace and political stability to the war-torn countries of Central America. In a series of meetings with the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, President Arias Sánchez pressed to resolve the turmoil and end outside influence in Central America. In February 1987 he proposed a regional peace plan for the Central American countries that would set a date for cease-fires between government and rebel forces, ensure amnesty for political prisoners, and schedule free and democratic elections in those countries. Arias and the leaders of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua signed this plan in August 1987; although signed, the plan was never fully implemented, partly because of opposition from the United States. However, it laid the foundation for the peace process in Central America.

In October 1987 Arias was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in recognition of his efforts to achieve the beginnings of peace in the region. In 1988 Arias used his Nobel Prize money to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, which promoted peace and equality throughout the world. Arias also was active in various global nongovernmental organizations that focused their efforts on promoting peace and rooting out corruption.

He was re-elected as President of Costa Rica from 2006-2010 after the country amended its constitution to allow him to run again. He continues to work for peace in Central America, keeping the vision of the Arias Plan alive.

He has been a member of PeaceJam since 1996.

During his presidency, he frequently ventured into the public without entourage or fanfare, to listen to the concerns of the citizenry. After the conclusion of his first term in office, he continued to be a “man of the people,” promoting human security and development on many fronts. In 2006, he was again elected President of Costa Rica, and today continues to champion peace and the cause of human rights.

(https://www.humanrights.com/voices-for-human-rights/oscar-arias.html; https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oscar-Arias-Sanchez; https://peacejam.org.uk/about-us/our-nobel-peace-laureates/oscar-arias-sanchez)