Álvaro Vargas Llosa (born 18 March 1966) is a Peruvian-Spanish writer and political commentator and public speaker on international affairs. He is also the writer and presenter of a documentary series for

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

on contemporary Latin American history that is being shown around the world. He leads the business advisory committee of the Fundación International para la Libertad (FIL). He was very involved in the struggle for the return of democracy in Peru at the end of the 1990s and the years 20002001. Vargas Llosa is the eldest son of writer and Nobel Prize laureate

Mario Vargas Llosa Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquess of Vargas Llosa (28 March 1936 – 13 April 2025) was a Peruvian novelist, journalist, essayist and politician. Vargas Llosa was one of the most significant Latin American novelists and essayists a ...

and his second wife (and first cousin) Patricia Llosa. He is the brother of

UNHCR The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and Humanitarian protection, protect refugees, Internally displaced person, forcibly displaced communities, and Statelessness, s ...

representative Gonzalo Vargas Llosa and photographer Morgana Vargas Llosa. In 1992, he married Susana Abad, with whom he had a son, Leandro, and a daughter, Aitana. He and his wife are legally separated. He is based in Washington, D.C., but spends a few months a year in Europe, and holds both the Peruvian and Spanish citizenships as a

dual citizen Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

. Álvaro Vargas Llosa is the successor to the Marquisate of Vargas Llosa. Álvaro Vargas Llosa is senior fellow at the

Independent Institute The Independent Institute is an American libertarian think tank founded in 1986 by David J. Theroux and based in Oakland, California. The institute has more than 140 research fellows and is organized into seven centers addressing a range of pol ...

, who has been a nationally syndicated columnist for the Washington Post Writers Group, and is the author of the book ''Liberty for Latin America'', which obtained the 2005

Antony Fisher Sir Antony George Anson Fisher (28 June 1915 – 8 July 1988), nicknamed AGAF, was a British businessman and think tank founder. He participated in the formation of various neoliberal organisations during the second half of the 20th century, ...

International Memorial Award for its contribution to the cause of freedom. He has received numerous awards for his journalistic work as well as for his defense of freedom and liberal democracy under the rule of law. He was appointed Young Global Leader 2007 by the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

. In 2012, Foreign Policy magazine nominated him one of the top 50 public intellectuals in the Spanish-speaking world. In 2021, he was awarded the 'Thomas Jefferson Award' by the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE) for his contribution to liberty.

Books

In English

* ''Global Crossings: Immigration, Civilization, and America'' (2013) * ''The Che Guevara Myth and the Future of Liberty'' (2005) * ''Liberty for Latin America: How to Undo 500 years of State Oppression'' (2005) * '' Guide to the Perfect Latin American Idiot'', with Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza and Carlos Alberto Montaner (1999) * ''Riding the Tiger:

Ramiro de León Carpio Ramiro de León Carpio (12 January 1942 – 16 April 2002) was a Guatemalan politician who served as the 43rd president of Guatemala from June 1993 until January 1996. He served as Guatemala's Attorney for Human Rights from August 1987 to ...

's Battle for Human Rights in Guatemala'' with Santiago Aroca. (1995) * ''The Madness of Things Peruvian: Democracy Under Siege'' (1994)

In Spanish

* ' (2012) * ', with Plinio Apuleyo Mendoza and Carlos Alberto Montaner (2007) * ' (2004) * ' (2003) * ' (2000) * ' (2000) * ' (1999) * ' (1998) * ' (1993) * ' (1991)

Ancestry

References

External links

Personal website

IRADE Conference (spanish) (video)

Liberty for Latin America (video)

Independent Institute biography page

– An

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

by Vargas Llosa on the December 2005 election of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

.
The Killing Machine: Che Guevara, from Communist Firebrand to Capitalist Brand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas Llosa, Alvaro 1966 births Living people Writers from Lima Peruvian essayists Peruvian television journalists Peruvian male writers Peruvian people of Spanish descent Spanish people of Peruvian descent Vargas Llosa family Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Reporters and correspondents 20th-century Peruvian journalists 21st-century Peruvian journalists People with multiple citizenship Spanish nobility