Asturias, Miguel Ángel (1899–1974)

Guatemalan author and diplomat. He published poetry, Guatemalan legends, and novels, such as El señor presidente/The President (1946), Men of Corn (1949), and Strong Wind (1950), attacking Latin-American dictatorships and ‘Yankee imperialism’. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1967.

He initially studied law and then Central American ancient culture, in Paris, France, before returning to Guatemala in 1933. In 1942 he was elected to the Guatemalan Congress and between 1946 and 1954 held diplomatic posts in Central and South America, before being temporarily exiled. He was ambassador to France 1966–70.