Adolfo Pérez Esquivel

In 1956, he married Amanda Pérez, a pianist and composer. The couple has three sons.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel was born on November 26, 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a Spanish fisherman from Poio, Galicia, who emigrated to Argentina. His mother died when he was three and he grew up in poverty.

Despite the hardships he faced, he performed well at school and furthered his education at the Manuel Belgrano School of Fine Arts and the National University of La Plata, where he was trained as a painter and sculptor.

Adolfo Pérez Esquivel embarked on a successful career as a sculptor and became quite well-known. An equally successful teaching career followed and over a span of 25 years he taught in all levels from primary to university, and worked with a variety of sculptural media.

He began working with Latin American Christian pacifist groups during the 1960s, and with time his involvement with the cause intensified. In 1968, it was decided to set up a joint organization covering all non-violent elements throughout Latin America.

The organization was given a more permanent form in 1974 and Pérez Esquivel was made the coordinator general for the network of Latin America-based communities promoting liberation of the poor through non-violent means. Working as a professor at the Argentine National School of Fine Arts during that time, he left his teaching post to focus entirely on the peace movement.

The country found itself in great political turmoil following the military coup in 1976. It was reeling under a violent dictatorship and it was during this period that Adolfo Pérez Esquivel emerged as a relentless champion of human rights and opponent of all violence.

The NGO Servicio Paz y Justicia ("Service, Peace and Justice Foundation", or SERPAJ), which he co-founded in 1974 played an instrumental role in promoting an international campaign to denounce the atrocities committed by the military regime. SERPAJ is a member of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR).

An outspoken human rights activist, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel is the co-founder of Servicio Paz y Justicia ("Service, Peace and Justice Foundation", or SERPAJ), a Human Rights Non Governmental Organization in Latin America which is a Christian based nonviolent organization committed for the defense of political prisoners in the different South American dictatorships during the Dirty War in the 1970-80s.