Óscar Arias President of Costa Rica Term of office:  8 May 1986 to 8 May 1990 – Preceded by:   Luis Alberto Monge – Succeeded by:  Rafael Ángel Calderón Date of birth: 13 September 1941 Place of birth: Heredia Party: PLN

Dr. Óscar Rafael de Jesús Arias Sánchez (born 13 September 1941, in Heredia) was the President of Costa Rica from 1986 to 1990. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. Óscar Arias, President of Costa Rica (1986-90). ... The following table contains a list of the presidents and heads of state of Costa Rica since Central American independence from Spain and Mexico. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (129th in leap years). ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Luis Alberto Monge Álvarez was the President of Costa Rica from 1982 to 1986. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Heredia is a city in north-central Costa Rica, the capital of Heredia province. ... The National Liberation Party is a political party of Costa Rica which was founded by Jose Figueres Ferrer in 1948, after voting irregularities. ... September 13 is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years). ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Heredia is a city in north-central Costa Rica, the capital of Heredia province. ... The following table contains a list of the presidents and heads of state of Costa Rica since Central American independence from Spain and Mexico. ... The Republic of Costa Rica is a republic in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south-southeast. ... The Nobel Peace Prize (where Nobel is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable) is one of five Nobel Prizes bequested by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel. ...

His presidential term focused on promoting a neoliberal economic model, dismantling social democratic institutions, requiring licensing of the press which was condemned by the Inter-American Human Rights Court, shifting exports from Costa Rica's traditional cash-crops (bananas, coffee) to non-traditional ones (e.g. exotic flowers and fruits), and placing more emphasis on tourism as an income source. The term neoliberalism is used to describe a political-economic philosophy that had major implications for government policies beginning in the 1970s – and increasingly prominent since 1980 – that de-emphasizes or rejects positive government intervention in the economy, focusing instead on achieving progress and even social justice by encouraging free...

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Arias in 1987 for his work towards the signing of the Esquipulas II Accords. This was a plan to promote democracy and peace on the Central American isthmus during a time of great turmoil and outside influence in the midst of the Cold War. Although Arias was accused by some of attempting to undermine the Nicaraguan government by refusing to recognize the legitimacy of its government and supposedly ignoring violations of the Esquipulas Peace Agreement by enemies of Nicaraguan's government, none of this was ever proven to be true. The Esquipulas Peace Agreement was an initiative in the mid-1980s to settle the military conflicts which had plagued Central America for many years, in some cases — Guatemala — decades. ...

He called for a higher level of integration in the Central America region and promoted the creation of the Central American Parliament (Parlamento Centroamericano). To date, the only Central American country that has not yet signed the treaty is Costa Rica. His period in office has been negatively criticized because of these efforts. The Central American Parliament, also know by the abbreviation Parlacen (from the Spanish Parlamento Centroamericano) is a political institution devoted to the integration of the Central American countries. ...

Arias also modified the country's educational system. The most notable action in this respect was the reintroduction of compulsory academic tests at the end of primary school and high school. These measures have been the topic of much debate in the country ever since.

In 2004 he announced his plans to run for President again in the February 2006 general elections, and is currently considered the front runner.