Serrano was born April 26 , 1945 in Guatemala City as the son of Jorge Adán Serrano and Rosa Elías , who was of Lebanese descent . After attending school in Switzerland he graduated in industrial engineering from the University of San Carlos , and then attended Stanford University in California , U.S. , where he studied economic growth and gained a doctorate in education and science . He then returned to Guatemala to become a civil servant . In 1976 he collaborated with various American Protestant churches to help the population recover from the devastating earthquake that had afflicted the country . He then published a document describing the miserable conditions under which the indigenous population lived , which resulted in his receiving threats . He went into exile in the US , only returning in 1982 , to work in the government of fellow evangelical General Efraín Ríos Montt as Vice President of the Advisory Board to the government
devastating earthquake
1976 Guatemala earthquake
Jorge Serrano Elías