Tomás Arias Ávila (December 29, 1856 in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, Republic of New Granada – July 20, 1932 in Panama City, Panama) was a Panamanian politician and businessman who was, together with José Agustín Arango and

Federico Boyd Federico Augusto Boyd López (24 September 1851 – 25 May 1924) was the acting President of Panama from 1 October 1910 to 5 October 1910. He belonged to the Liberal Party. Boyd was born in Panama City on 24 September 1851 to Archibaldo B. Bo ...

, a first president of Panama as a member of the provisional junta that governed Panama after its independence in 1903. Tomás Arias was the son of Ramon Arias and Manuela Avila. A businessman, Arias attended schools in Panama,

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, and the United States. Arias was one of the leaders during the emancipation movement in 1903. His brother, Ricardo Arias, was also part of the movement. Tomás Arias's eloquence and talent as a public speaker won him the designation of diplomat representing the Isthmus of Panama. During his political career he held several posts: Treasury administrator, Departmental Assembly deputy (1882), representative to the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n Congress, senator (1888-1892), government secretary (1893-1900), foreign relations minister, chairman of the National Assembly (1906), minister of Panama in Mexico, consul, and first President of the Republic of Panama (1903-1904). Arias, along with José Agustín Arango, defended the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty because he was convinced that it was the only guarantee of the possible construction of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

. He died in Panama City, Panama on July 20, 1932, at the age of 75.

References

* http://www.pancanal.com/eng/history/proceres/arias.html • Mellander, Gustavo A., Mellander, Nelly, Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years. Río Piedras, Puerto Rico: Editorial Plaza Mayor. ISBN 1-56328-155-4. OCLC 42970390. (1999) • Mellander, Gustavo A., The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years." Danville, Ill.: Interstate Publishers. OCLC 138568. (1971) 1856 births 1932 deaths People from Panama City Conservative Party (Panama) politicians Presidents of Panama 20th-century Colombian politicians {{Panama-politician-stub