Leopoldo López
Venezuelan Opposition Leader and World Liberty Congress Co-founder
Freedom activist Leopoldo López was a political prisoner from 2014 after being sentenced to 14 years for leading non-violent street protests and civil resistance. After seven years in confinement, in 2020 he managed to escape the Maduro regime and was able to travel to Spain.
From 2000 to 2008 López was mayor of the municipality of Chacao in Caracas; he was subsequently illegally disqualified to run for office. In 2009, he founded the Voluntad Popular (Popular Will) political party and freedom movement, and became its national coordinator. He is the co-founder of the World Liberty Congress, launched in 2022 to serve as a counterweight against the global autocratic alliance by connecting non-violent, pro-democracy activists and leaders from across the globe.
The author of two books and various articles, he graduated cum laude from Kenyon College, holds a Masters degree in public policy from the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and was awarded a honoris causa doctorate in law from Kenyon College in 2007.
Prizes he has been awarded include NED’s 2013 Democracy Award, an Alumni Achievement Award from Harvard (2014) and the Sakharov European Parliament Prize (2017).
