Miguel José Mansur (born 15 July 1977) is an Aruban politician of the

Accion 21 Action 21 ( pap, Accion 21, A21) is an Aruban political party in the Centrism, centre with its ideology based in liberalism and progressivism. The party's name is derived from its desire to be the party of the 21st century, as well as the fact it ...

party. He was elected a Senator of the

Parliament of Aruba The Parliament of Aruba ( pap, Parlamento di Aruba, nl, Staten van Aruba) is the unicameral legislature or parliament of Aruba. The parliament has 21 members, elected for a four-year term by proportional representation. Each member holds their s ...

in the elections of 25 June 2021. He was the top vote getter amongst new candidates and fifth overall of 176 candidates participating.

Early life and education

Mansur was born to Madeline Arends, former Miss Tivoli 1967, the daughter of Lieutenant Governor (''Gezaghebber)'' Eric "Tushi" Arends and M.E.I. "Betsy" Arends whose family emigrated from the Netherlands in the 1700s. His father Miguel José Mansur, Sr. is an affluent businessman from a well-known Aruban merchant family of Lebanese descent and former President of the Chamber of Commerce. He is the grandson of Elias Mansur, an important local businessman of the 20th century whose family settled in Aruba since 1902 and who was condecorated Officer in the

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

. His paternal grandmother was Damia S. Mawad of a prominent

Zgharta Zgharta ( ar, زغرتا, syc, ܙܓܪܬܐ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli. Zgharta is about 150 metres above sea ...

noble family and cousin to assassinated Lebanese President

René Moawad René Moawad ( ar, رينيه معوض; 17 April 1925 in Zgharta – 22 November 1989 in Beirut) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 9th President of Lebanon. He served for 18 days, from 5 to 22 November 1989, before his assassination by ...

. He is the nephew of former Minister of Economic Affairs and Tourism E.F. "Don" Mansur. His primary education was in the English language at Seroe Colorado School, later renamed

International School of Aruba The International School of Aruba (ISA) is a non-profit private school in Aruba. In 2006, it moved to a new campus with a more centralized location. It was founded in 1929 and was owned by Lago Oil and Transport Co. Ltd. From 1986 on, the scho ...

. At the age of fourteen he went to boarding school at the prestigious

Institut Le Rosey Institut Le Rosey (), commonly referred to as Le Rosey or simply Rosey, is a private boarding school in Rolle, Switzerland. Founded in 1880 by Paul-Émile Carnal on the site of the 14th-century Château du Rosey in the town of Rolle in the canto ...

in Switzerland where he graduated with the ''Prix D'Excellence'' in 1995. He studied economics and international relations in the United States where he graduated from

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. Prior to returning to his native Aruba in October 2020, Mansur resided in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Escazú,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

Ibiza Ibiza (natively and officially in ca, Eivissa, ) is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, in Spain. Its l ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Career

An investor turned politician inspired by an article he published during the coronavirus pandemic, "Status Aparte: The Road to Prosperity or Poverty?" on 18 July 2020. Mansur critically assessed Aruba's performance since gaining self-governing autonomy, known as ''Status Aparte'', on 1 January 1986 by comparing real economic growth with growth in the national debt. The poor performance of successive Aruban governments since 2001 prompted his entry into politics, thereby founding the liberal progressive

party on 18 December 2020. Following the elections of 25 June 2021, he swore in as a Senator of

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

on 8 July 2021 and is currently Leader of the parliamentary faction of

in the

. Prior to his entry into politics he was President of Capitable, a

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

limited liability company that manages investments in the self-service laundry industry and real estate.

Political positions

Economy/Finance

Mansur campaigned heavily on fiscal reform and is a strong proponent of adopting a Singapore model of economic development based on territorial taxation. He is also a strong advocate of reducing the size and costs of the public sector and increasing labor flexibility.

Humans Rights

As the first openly gay party leader in Aruba, Mansur and his party unequivocally advocate for equal rights for the LGBT community including marriage equality.

Immigration

His party campaigned for the regularization of the roughly 20,000 undocumented persons in Aruba and their integration into the formal economy and society.

Netherlands

He campaigned for closer relations to the Netherlands and is a supporter of the ''Landspakket'' or country agreement between Aruba and the Netherlands.

Social Policy

His stances are very progressive and his party was the first to include abortion and euthanasia as part of its platform along with the legalization of recreational cannabis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mansur, Miguel Aruban politicians 1977 births Living people LGBT legislators Gay politicians Tufts University alumni Alumni of Institut Le Rosey