José Miguel Morales Dasso (1945–2024) was a Peruvian lawyer and businessman based in Lima. He was a senior partner of the law firm Estudio Aurelio García Sayán and held leading roles in Peru's mining sector and in the national business confederation CONFIEP. He also founded Empresarios por la Educación, an association that promoted public education.
Background
José Miguel Morales Dasso was born on 25 August 1945 in Lima, Peru, the son of the lawyer José Morales Urresti and Alicia Dasso Drago. His father was a former president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, the country's central bank. Lima was then the capital and main center of Peru's legal and commercial life.
His paternal grandfather, Raymundo Morales de la Torre, was one of the founders of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, a Catholic university established in Lima in 1917. CONFIEP's tribute to him links this family connection to his later commitment to education and to the idea that education helps people escape poverty. His brother Raimundo Morales Dasso served for many years as vice president of Banco de Crédito del Perú, founded in 1889, working alongside Dionisio Romero Seminario.
Education
He studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, a private Catholic university founded in Lima in 1917. The university's law program provided the professional qualification he later used in private legal practice.
He then completed a master's degree in business administration at Stanford University. Stanford was established in California in 1885 as a private research university, and its graduate business school offers the MBA program that he pursued.
His legal career was centered on the Estudio Aurelio García Sayán, a Lima law firm whose own history spans more than 120 years. The firm describes itself as the only Peruvian member of MERITAS, a worldwide alliance of law firms, and its history records advisory work for mining clients including Cerro de Pasco Corporation. He served as a senior partner of the firm.
His long association with the mining company Compañía de Minas Buenaventura is documented in tributes describing about fifty years of service. Buenaventura became the first Peruvian company whose shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange, according to the firm's history. He later served as an independent director of the company, and he took part in the negotiation of the Cuajone contract in New York as a member of the group of executives of Southern Peru companies.
He also held board positions in other companies. He was chairman of the board of Sociedad Minera El Brocal, a Peruvian mining company, and a director of the Yanacocha gold mine in Cajamarca, a major gold mining operation in northern Peru. He was also a director of Pacífico Seguros, an insurance company based in Lima.
Achievements
He took part, as a member of the group of executives of the Southern Peru companies, in the New York negotiations of the Cuajone contract between Southern Peru Copper Corporation and the Peruvian government, which the firm's history dates to 1969.
He was a member of the commission that drafted Peru's General Mining Law of 1980 and its later amendment of 1992, drawing on his expertise in commercial and mining law.
Views
According to CONFIEP's tribute to him, he believed that education was a path out of poverty and that ethical work should be passed from one generation to the next.
Membership
He was an active participant in Peru's business and mining organizations. The Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía is the national society of mining, petroleum, and energy companies, and it represents their interests in public debate. He led it as president in 1980, and in 2001 to 2004 he served as its vice president and then its president.
He later presided over the Confederación Nacional de Instituciones Empresariales Privadas (CONFIEP), the national confederation of private business institutions in Peru, from 2005 to 2007. During that term, according to CONFIEP, he promoted education as a major theme of business engagement with public policy.
He founded the association Empresarios por la Educación, which seeks to improve public education by coordinating the efforts of private companies, the state, and civil society organizations. He was also a member of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, a body focused on the legal frameworks for natural resources and energy. He was a member of the international arbitration court of the American Chamber of Commerce of Peru, and he was a member of the Club Nacional, a private social club in Lima.
President
Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía
,
Peru
1980
Vice president, then president
Sociedad Nacional de Minería, Petróleo y Energía
,
Peru
2001 - 2004
President
Confederación Nacional de Instituciones Empresariales Privadas (CONFIEP)
,
Peru
2005 - 2007
Founder and president
Empresarios por la Educación
,
Peru
President
Club Nacional
,
Peru
2012 - 2014
Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law
,
Peru
Corte Internacional de Arbitraje de la Cámara de Comercio Americana del Perú
,
Peru
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
A business leader who knew him described him as a person of integrity who was deeply concerned for the workers on his farms. Empresarios por la Educación, the association he founded, described him as a beloved leader at the time of his death.
Interests
He was an enthusiast of the Peruvian Paso horse, a gaited horse breed from Peru.
Connections
He was married until his death to Elsa Blanca Benavides Ganoza, a daughter of the mining entrepreneur Alberto Benavides de la Quintana. Her brothers were Alberto Benavides Ganoza and Roque Benavides Ganoza. The couple had three children: Blanca Alicia, María José, and Jimena Elsa Morales Benavides.
Father:
José Morales Urresti
Lawyer and former president of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru.
Mother:
Alicia Dasso Drago
child:
Blanca Alicia Morales Benavides
child:
María José Morales Benavides
child:
Jimena Elsa Morales Benavides
Wife:
Elsa Blanca Benavides Ganoza
Daughter of the mining entrepreneur Alberto Benavides de la Quintana; the couple remained married until his death.
Brother:
Raimundo Morales Dasso
Served for a long period as vice president of Banco de Crédito del Perú alongside Dionisio Romero Seminario.
History – GSA Legal
Timeline of the Estudio Aurelio García Sayán law firm, including its mining and corporate advisory work and a reference to his role in the Cuajone contract negotiations.
Awarded the grade of Gran Oficial in 2004 by Peru's Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion for helping resolve labour problems and reaching fair agreements that benefited the parties in labour relations.
Awarded the grade of Gran Oficial in 2004 by Peru's Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion for helping resolve labour problems and reaching fair agreements that benefited the parties in labour relations.
Palmas Magisteriales,
Peru
Received the Amauta grade in 2011. The Palmas Magisteriales is a Peruvian distinction that recognizes contributions to education.
Received the Amauta grade in 2011. The Palmas Magisteriales is a Peruvian distinction that recognizes contributions to education.
Premio IPAE,
Peru
Awarded in 2013 for his contribution to improving national public education, especially in rural areas. IPAE is a Peruvian business administration institute.
Awarded in 2013 for his contribution to improving national public education, especially in rural areas. IPAE is a Peruvian business administration institute.
Distinguished alumnus of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru,
Peru
Named a distinguished alumnus by the university's association of alumni and graduates.
Named a distinguished alumnus by the university's association of alumni and graduates.
