José Domingo Arias
| José Domingo Arias Villalaz | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
26 October 1963 Panama City, Panama |
| Political party | Democratic Change |
| Spouse(s) | Aimée Álvarez |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
José Domingo Arias Villalaz is a Panamanian economist and politician, and was an unsuccessful candidate in the 2014 presidential elections.
José Domingo Arias was born on 26 October 1963 in Panama City. He is the son of Marta Graciela Villalaz Arias and Julio Rubén Arias Valdés. He has two siblings: Julio Rubén is the elder and Marta María is the younger.
His paternal grandfather, Aurelio Arias, was a deputy in the National Constituent Assembly in 1946. His uncles, Bernardino and Sergio González Ruiz, both served as Ministers of State and Acting Presidents under Roberto F. Chiari. His father was a businessman in the transport sector, and his mother graduated in dentistry at the University of Buenos Aires.
Arias passed his childhood in the capital. He had five years of primary education at the Javier School, a Jesuit institution, then passed on to the Pedagogic High School to complete his secondary education. The summer holidays were always spent in the city of Las Tablas and in the countryside at Villa de Los Santos, which belonged to his mother's family.
Like his mother, Arias went on to study at the University of Buenos Aires, where he was in contact with leading Argentine intellectuals and economists who had returned to the university at the end of the military dictatorship.
His working life began in the clothing industry as a salesman soon rising to an executive position in the company. He was instrumental in developing the firm's trade with more than 12 neighbouring countries.
He is married to Aimée Álvarez and they currently (2013) have three children: David José, aged 19; Juan Enrique, 14; and Isabella, 10.
In 2006 he joined the Cambio Democrático party, in which he assisted in formulating the plan for government, and acted as campaign spokesman. When that party's candidate Ricardo Martinelli became President in 2009 he offered Arias a Cabinet post as minister for foreign trade. In this position he set up the PROINVEX governmental agency for attracting investment and promoting exports. In 2010 he organised a series of conferences - PANAMAINVEST - in the capitals of major trading nations with the aim of promoting direct foreign investment. He worked to enhance the effectiveness of the office dealing with local headquarters of multinational companies, reducing management expenses and certifying its work by ISO 9001 quality standards. Among other tasks he also drew up a new law concerning .
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