Mr. Vargas Llosa is a native of Peru and received his B.Sc. in international history from the London School of Economics and an M.A. in Value Investing and Theory of the Cycle at OMMA in Spain. He has been a member of Board of the Miami Herald Publishing Company and op-ed page editor and columnist at the Miami Herald, and a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the BBC World Service, Time Magazine, Granta magazine, El País, the International Herald Tribune, and other media outlets. In addition, Mr. Vargas Llosa has been a commentator at Univision TV, news director at RCN radio, London Correspondent for Spain’s ABC daily newspaper, commentator at Radio Nacional de España in Madrid, host of the weekly TV program “Planeta 3” that aired in twelve Latin American countries for five years, and columnist at La Nación (Argentina), El Nacional (Venezuela), Reforma (Mexico), El Tiempo (Colombia), El País (Uruguay), El Listín Diario (Dominican Republic).

He is the author of the books Global Crossings: Immigration, Civilization, and America, Latest News on the New Ibero-American Idiot (with Carlos Alberto Montaner and Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza), The Che Guevara Myth, Liberty for Latin America, The Madness of Things Peruvian, Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot (with Carlos Alberto Montaner and Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza), El Exilio Indomable, Cuando Hablaba Dormido, El Diablo en Campaña, En el Reino del Espanto, Tiempos de Resistencia, and La Contenta Barbarie, and he is a contributing author to How I Learned English (edited by Tom Miller).

Mr. Vargas Llosa was the press spokesman for the presidential campaign of the Democratic Front in 1990 in his native Peru and an Advisor on International Relations for the presidential campaign of Perú Posible in 2001.

Among his other awards, he is the recipient of the Juan Bautista Alberdi Award (2006) for his defense of freedom across the western hemisphere, the A.I.R. Award for Best Current Affairs Radio Show in Florida (1998), Puerto Rican Parliament’s Award for the Defense of Freedom (1997), Peruvian Association of Fishermen’s Award for the Defense of Freedom (2000), and Freedom of Expression Award given by the Association of Ibero-American Journalists (2003).

He has lectured widely on world economic and political issues. Among other venues, he has spoken at The World Economic Forum, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Council on Foreign Affairs (U.S.), World Affairs Council (U.S.), Inter-American Dialogue (U.S.), Florida International University (U.S.), University of New York (U.S.), Cato Institute (U.S.), Atlas Economic Research Foundation (U.S.), Mount Pelerin Society (Chile), Naumann Foundation (Germany), FAES Foundation (Spain), Brazilian Institute of Business Studies, Fundación Libertad (Argentina), the CEDICE Foundation (Venezuela), Ecuatorian Chamber of Commerce (Ecuador), and University of San Marcos (Peru).