Fernando Sánchez Campos

Fernando Sánchez Campos (born January 13, 1974) is a Costa Rican politician.

Early life and education

Fernando Sanchez Campos was born in San José, Costa Rica on January 13, 1974. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Costa Rica, an MBA from INCAE, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from St Antony's College, Oxford.

From 2004-2006, Fernando Sanchez Campos worked as a consultant to The Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.

Sanchez Campos served as congressman, i.e. member of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica, the unicameral parliament of Costa Rica during the period 2006-2010. He was appointed ambassador to the Vatican and to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)on August 24, 2010 http://www.nacion.com/2010-08-24/Deportes/UltimaHora/Deportes2496352.aspx.

Involvement in the memorandum on CAFTA-DR referendum

In 2007 Mr Sanchez, by then a member of the Costa Rican parliament was involved in a scandal concerning a memorandum that he and Kevin Casas, by then vice-president of Cost 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.

Controversy on links with US actor Steven Seagal

On June, 2010 Sanchez Campos was involved 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 [1][2]. 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 [3]. 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.

Sanchez Campos is the author and co-author of numerous publications. Among others, he published Partidos políticos, elecciones y lealtades partidarias en Costa Rica: Erosión y Cambio; Politica y poder; Reflexiones desde mi ventana (2005); and Fortalecimiento de los partidos políticos en América Latina: Institucionalización, democratización y transparencia.