Fernando Sánchez Campos

Fernando Sanchez Campos was born in San José, Costa Rica on January 13, 1974.[1] He is a man of profound family values. Married to María del Milagro Linares-Martín, together they have two children: Fernando Felipe and María Pía. The Sánchez-Linares family are active members of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles Parrish in Heredia, Costa Rica.

In terms of academic experience, he has served as rector, professor, tutor, researcher, guest speaker, and consultant at several academic institutions such as the University of Costa Rica and INCAE Business School, as well as at the University of Oxford, the University of Salamanca, and the Catholic University of Valencia. In addition, he has worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIHR), specifically at the Centro de Asesoría y Promoción Electoral (CAPEL). Nowadays he serves as Rector of the Catholic University of Costa Rica (UCAT), the official university of the Costa Rican Episcopal Conference (CECOR). Likewise, he is currently the Second Vice President of the Organización de Universidades Católicas de América Latina y el Caribe (ODUCAL), Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean sub Region and—just recently—member of the Board of Directors of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU).

Mr. Sánchez holds a Ph.D. in Politics by the University of Oxford (UK), a master's degree in Business Administration by INCAE Business School (Costa Rica), and a BA in Political Science by the University of Costa Rica. He has published eight books and has another one in press, and has also written several chapters in different books and various academic articles. Likewise, he is a regular contributor for different newspapers of national scope in Costa Rica, and has been awarded several prizes, distinctions and honors (in Costa Rica and abroad). Fernando Sánchez is a Spanish native speaker and also has fluent knowledge of English and Italian

In 2007 Mr Sanchez, by then a member of the Costa Rican parliament was implicated in a scandal concerning a memorandum that he and Kevin Casas, by then vice-president of Costa Rica and minister of national planning, sent to Oscar Arias, president of Costa Rica at the time. The memorandum discussed the strategy to be followed by government and the ruling party, Liberacion Nacional, on the referendum that took place on October, 2007 on CAFTA-DR.

The memo leaked to the press, creating controversy, particularly among the people who opposed CAFTA-DR. According to detractors, the memo suggested questionable and potentially illegal tactics in the government's campaign for the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States. As a consequence of the controversy, Casas announced his resignation from his posts as vice-president and Planning Minister. Sanchez Campos resigned as member of two parliament committees that he chaired at the moment the controversy erupted– the Electoral Reform Commission and the Commission on the Development Bank Law Controversy memorandum.

On June, 2010 Sanchez Campos was implicated in a controversy concerning the visit of US actor Steven Seagal to Costa Rica. According to Sanchez Campos’ account he introduced Seagal to the top Costa Rican authorities that the actor met. Seagal's meeting with Costa Rican ministers was criticized by Costa Rican media on the grounds of pending legal pursuits against Seagal concerning sexual harassment matters . Seagal met José María Tijerino, then minister of Seguridad (Police) as well as the director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), Jorge Rojas, and reportedly offered his cooperation to develop a proposal to fight crime in Costa Rica. He also met René Castro, Costa Rican minister of foreign affairs to discuss these issues . Seagal claims that he serves as reserve deputy chief of the Sheriff's Office in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. In 2009, his work there was made into a TV reality show. Critics contend that Seagal's rank of deputy chief is purely ceremonial, although his show suggests that it includes actual involvement. Critics also contend that Seagal says he attended a police academy in Los Angeles and has a certificate from Peace Officer Standards & Training (POST), an organization that accredits police officers. However, according to media reports, POST officials in California and Louisiana said they had no record of Seagal being certified.[3]