Justo Arosemena Quesada

Justo Arosemena
Born	(1817-08-09)August 9, 1817 Panama City, Viceroyalty of New Granada, Spanish Empire
Died	February 23, 1896(1896-02-23) (aged 78) Colón, Panama Departament, Colombia
Nationality	Panamanian, Colombian
Known for	Politician, lawyer, writer

Justo Arosemena Quesada (August 9, 1817 – February 23, 1896) was a statesman, writer, lawyer and politician from what is now Panama who lived during the period of union with Colombia. He dedicated his life to the cause of the autonomy of the Isthmus of Panama in and as a part of Colombia, and is regarded as "the most illustrious of the Panamanian and father of Panamanian nationality."^{[citation needed]}

Biography

Arosemena was born in

He was elected deputy to the Provincial House of Panama (1850–1851), and subsequently as a representative to the National Congress of Colombia (1852–1853). As a statesman, he strongly supported both a respect for human rights and a greater autonomy for the Isthmus of Panama in Colombia. For this reason, the federal state of Panama was created, and he was elected as its first president in 1855. He resigned his position a few months later.

By 1863 he was president of the

In 1878, with the help of the educator José Manuel Hurtado and politician Buenaventura Correoso, he prompted the founding of the first public library in Panama, for which he donated more than 60 volumes related to history and law. In 1886, with the promulgation of the Constitution of Panama, he withdrew himself from public life and he is dedicated to the legal profession until his death in the city of Colón, at the age of 78.

His legacy as a jurist was recognized posthumously when the headquarters of the National Assembly of Panama was named after him.

Work

Justo Arosemena wrote a series of

As a member of the Congress of Nueva Granada (1850) and as senator of Istmo de Panamá (1853), he authored many legal codifications and was instrumental in bringing about the autonomy of the Colombian federal state of Panama. His extensive drafts of legal codifications, the so-called Proyectos Arosemena, were to become the basis of Panamanian and Colombian legislation in the second half of the 19th century.

Essays by Arosemena

• Aim for the Introduction to the Moral and Political Sciences (1840)
• Consideration on the Frank Communication Between the Oceans (1846)
• Principles of Moral Politics (1849)
• Moral Code Based on the Nature of Man (1860)
• Studies on the Idea of an American League (1864)
• Political Constitutions in South America (1870)
• Constitutional Studies (1878)
• The Institution of Marriage in the United Kingdom (1879)
• The Marriage Before the Law

References

• Tello Burgos, Algeria. Written by Justo Arosemena. University of Panama, 1985, p. 327-382
• Paul, Wolf (2001). "Justo Arosemena". In Michael Stolleis (ed.). Juristen: ein biographisches Lexikon; von der Antike bis zum 20. Jahrhundert (in German) (2nd ed.). München: Beck. p. 40.
  ISBN 3-406-45957-9
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