Oscar Arias was born on September 13, 1941, in Heredia, Costa Rica. He studied in the United States, and then later returned to Costa Rica and studies law and economics at the University of Costa Rica. He then earned his doctoral degree in England with his thesis being “Who rules Costa Rica” (Les Prix Nobel).
Dr. Arias spent his life in the political light in Costa Rica. He started in 1970 as an assistant to Jose Figures, and when Figures was elected president, he was seated as the Minister of National Planning and Political Economy. By 1975, he was the International Secretary and in 1979, the General Secretary (Les Prix Nobel). He moved throughout the political field and was elected as President in 1986.
During his time as president, Dr. Arias worked to bring about peace to Costa Rica. He concentrated on engaging the Central American states in peaceful processes. He met with presidents of other Central American states in an effort to work out peaceful solutions for conflict and trade. In 1987, Dr. Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “his work for peace in Central America, efforts which led to the accord signed in Guatemala on August 7,” (Oscar Arias Sánchez). This was how he contributed to peace during his presidency.
I am inspired by learning about Dr. Arias’s life and his successful peace efforts and accomplishments. As I am only 20 years old, I only really remember two/three presidents, and can only evaluate the past two. Looking at how our current President Trump handles things, I think that a president devoting time and effort to bringing peace to not only his people, but other countries as well, is inspiring. I find it amazing that a president can and has done that. It’s hard to compare the United States to Costa Rica due to the size and geographical differences, but at the end of the day, both Dr. Arias and President Trump are both men that have the same hours in the day. Dr. Arias established a foundation, the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, from the money he received from the Nobel Peace Prize (Yunus). He was a man of the people; when working with the public and being in a leadership position, that is an essential quality that is sometimes lacking.
Work Cited
Les Prix Nobel. The Nobel Prizes 1987, Editor Wilhelm Odelberg, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1988
Oscar Arias Sánchez – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Thu. 7 Feb 2019. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1987/arias/facts/
Yunus, Muhammad. “Oscar Arias Sanchez, Nobel Peace Prize, Costa Rican President : Youth For Human Rights Champion.” Black History Month Feature: Alvin Ailey – Genius Choreographer and Human Rights Activist, 2019, www.youthforhumanrights.org/voices-for-human-rights/champions/oscar-arias.html.