Arias, who holds a degree in Law and joined the diplomatic service in 1967, also has a considerable experience outside the diplomatic world. He was General Director of the football Club Real Madrid (1993–95). He also has experienced the academic field, having been professor of International Relations at the Complutense University and at the University Carlos III, both in Madrid. Mr. Arias is the author of several books, papers and contributions, among others, on political issues and international relations. His latest title, "Confesiones de un diplomatico" (Publisher: Planeta), is about the events leading up to the Iraq invasion inside the U.N. Security Council, interspersed with U.S. famous historic events as well as the entertainment industry and U.S. pastimes viewed from a Spanish/European perspective. Martin Prieto in "El Mundo" writes that Arias, after examining the origins and development of the Iraq war, states that without the terrorist attack of March 2003 in Madrid the center-right Popular Party would have won the elections of that year and examines the European antiamericanism plus the American ignorance of Europe. M. Prieto concludes that the book is balanced and informative and with a lot of the sense of humour that Mr. Arias distilles. Perez Maura in "ABC" said that Arias "has written an enjoyable and illuminating book with some truly hilarious pages".