Paulo Speller was born in Monlevade in 1946 as the son of a Luxembourgish engineer.

Paulo's father, Guillaume Prosper Speller, was a Luxembourgish engineer who moved to João Monlevade in 1938 and married a Brazilian woman, Mariza Kindlé Vianna Speller, with whom he had three children.

During his studies at the University of Brasília, Paulo was the leader of the student movements against the repression of the military dictatorship.

Ironically, the first Brazilian president after the Coup of 1964, Castelo Branco, was married to Paulo’s aunt. However, his family connection was useless, and Paulo’s active engagement cost him his freedom.

In 1968, he was arrested by the military and spent almost one and a half years in prison.

After a provisional liberation, he was exiled first to Mexico and then to Africa.

Paulo remained exiled and torn away from his family until 1980, after the promulgation of the amnesty law for political crimes.

He has lived in several countries around the world, partly because of his exile during Brazil's military dictatorship, and is currently a university professor.