Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo[A] (13 December 1903 – 3 September 1979) was a prominent Venezuelan diplomat, politician and lawyer primarily responsible for the inception and creation of the OPEC, along with Saudi Arabian minister Abdullah Tariki.

As Minister of Development during the first democratic government of Venezuela, the short-lived administration of Rómulo Gallegos (1947–1948), he was responsible for increasing oil revenues for the country by raising taxes through what later became known worldwide as the 50/50 formula.

[2] With the overthrow of the democratically elected government of President Rómulo Gallegos by the military in November 1948, Perez Alfonzo obtained political asylum in the United States after spending 9 months in jail.

As Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons during the second democratic government of Venezuela of President Rómulo Betancourt (1959–1964), he was responsible for the creation of the OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) for the purpose of rationalizing and thereby increasing oil prices in the world market.

[citation needed][5] Pérez Alfonzo died in Washington, D.C., at the Georgetown University Hospital on 3 September 1979, at age 75, having succumbed to pancreatic cancer.