Óscar Arias
Former President of Costa Rica and 1987 Nobel Peace Laureate, Oscar Arias is an internationally recognised voice for human development, democracy and demilitarisation, applying the lessons of the Central American peace process to today’s global debates. Born in Heredia in 1940, he studied law and economics at the University of Costa Rica and received a doctorate in political science from the University of Essex in 1974. After teaching political science, he served as Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, won a seat in Congress in 1978 and was elected President of Costa Rica in 1986, at a time when civil wars and Cold War interference were tearing Central America apart.
In 1987 he drafted the Arias Peace Plan, which led all the Central American presidents to sign the Esquipulas II Accords on 7 August 1987; that same year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1988 he used the prize money to establish the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, with programmes on equal opportunities for women, philanthropy, and demilitarisation and conflict resolution. He has received honorary doctorates from universities including Harvard and Dartmouth, as well as the Prince of Asturias Award, the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Award and the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, and has served on the boards of SIPRI, the InterAction Council and Transparency International.
In the programme
The times of individual contributions will be shown in the programme.