Alfonso Barrera Valverde (29 March 1929[1] – 6 September 2013[2]) was an Ecuadorian writer and diplomat.
The family moved to Quito, where the young Alfonso studied at the Colegio La Salle and then at the Central University of Ecuador.
Starting his career at the foreign ministry, he rose to be ambassador to the Dominican Republic, then under the dictatorship of Leonidas Trujillo.
He turned down an offer to run for president, concentrating on the ministry where he spent a total of 49 years.
Some of his notable works include his account of the Paquisha conflict, Hombres de paz en lucha (1982), the children's novel El país de Manuelito (1984) and Sancho Panza en América (2006).