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.

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.

[1] 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.