Javier Pérez de Cuéllar was born in Peru in 1920. Before joining the United Nations (UN), Dr. De Cuéllar worked abroad in various positions. These included serving as ambassador to Switzerland, the Soviet Union, Poland and Venezuela. In 1946, Dr. De Cuéllar joined the UN at the age of 25. At that time, he was still on the Peruvian delegation to the General Assembly. In 1971, Dr. De Cuéllar became the permanent UN representative in Peru. Three years later, he led the UN mission to the war-torn Cyprus. In 1979, Dr. De Cuéllar became Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs. And in 1982 he was appointed UN Secretary-General, which he would remain until 1992.

Back in Peru, there was much interest in Dr. De Cuéllar and the activities he organized. His lectures in international law attracted much attention. As a result, Dr. De Cuéllar felt compelled to get involved in domestic politics, which suffered from corruption and arbitrariness. In 1995, he ran for president but lost to Fujimori. After Fujimori was ousted, Dr. De Cuéllar led a transitional government for a short time. In 2001, Dr. De Cuéllar became ambassador to Paris for four years. There he was also very active for UNESCO. Dr. De Cuéllar died in Peru in 2020.