Oscar Arias
Oscar Arias
Óscar Arias Sánchezwas President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990 and from 2006 to 2010. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his efforts to end the Central American crisis...
NationalityCosta Rican
ProfessionWorld Leader
Date of Birth13 September 1940
CityHeredia, Costa Rica
alone america central followed human peace political seek shedding someday
We seek in Central America not peace alone, not peace to be followed someday by political progress, but peace and democracy, together, indivisible, an end to the shedding of human blood, which is inseparable from an end to the suppression of human rights.
central courage face peace presented side supported triumph
We had the courage to face the superpowers that wanted a military triumph for each side they supported in Central America. We told them, 'No,' and presented a peace plan.
definition final finishing fixed matter peace prizes product victory
Peace is not a matter of prizes or trophies. It is not the product of a victory or command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement.
certainly peace profits
Our world is certainly dangerous, but it is made more dangerous, not less, by those who value profits over peace.
central obtain peace
If there is no peace in Central America, it will not be because Costa Rica, and myself as president, have not done what is necessary to obtain peace.
future head peace
I think it's in the hands of each head of state: the future of peace in his own country.
country peace children
Peace consists, very largely, in the fact of desiring it with all one's soul. The inhabitants of my small country, Costa Rica, have realized those words by Erasmus. Mine is an unarmed people, whose children have never seen a fighter or a tank or a warship.
peace soul facts
Peace consists, very largely, in the fact of desiring it with all one's soul.
peace differences together
Peace is a never ending process... It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work and live together.
country peace attitude
Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions by many people in many countries. It is an attitude, a way of life, a way of solving problems and resolving conflicts. It cannot be forced on the smallest nation or enforced by the largest. It cannot ignore our differences or overlook our common interests. It requires us to work and live together.
accord agreement foreign free heck national oppose trade
Without a free trade agreement, no one, not national or foreign firms, will invest. We have many things that need to get done, and all those who oppose the free trade accord need to tell me how the heck we're going to do them.
harvard opened
When Harvard University opened its doors in 1636, there were already well-established universities in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru.
achieve education force health priorities recognizes stability wiser
We need a force that recognizes that only through development and liberty, through education and health care, through better priorities and wiser investments, can we achieve the stability we seek.
affirm afflicts believe crushing cure globally integrated latin percent responsibility
We may believe in the state's responsibility to alleviate the crushing poverty that afflicts 40 percent of Latin America's population, but most of us also affirm that there is no better cure for that poverty than a stronger, more globally integrated economy.