Luis Palau, Jr. was born November 27, 1934 in Ingeniero Maschwitz, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has five younger sisters and one stepbrother. His father, a construction executive, died when Palau was 10. Palau says that he was born again at the age of 12, devoting his life to Christ. He was educated in British-run boarding schools. He worked at a bank in Córdoba, and joined a missionary organization.

Palau first heard Billy Graham on a radio broadcast from Portland, Oregon while still living in Argentina in 1950, and drew inspiration from him. He later worked for Graham as a Spanish translator and as an evangelist. In 1970, Graham contributed the seed money for Palau to start his own ministry, which he modeled after Graham's.

Since then, Palau has held many large-scale evangelistic festivals and gatherings around the world.

Palau arrived in Portland in 1960 to attend a graduate program at Multnomah Bible College, from which he graduated in 1961. His travel and tuition was paid by U.S. benefactors. There he met his wife, Pat, a Beaverton kindergarten teacher, who was a fellow student. He became a U.S. citizen in 1962.

In 1976, on the 25th anniversary of Overseas Crusades, founder Dick Hillis stepped down as president and Palau was named president.

Palau began plans for his first "crusade" in Portland in the late 1980s. He retained a strong base of support in Latin America. He sees a void that needs to be filled in the "pagan Northwest."

He spent time as a missionary in Egypt, a predominantly Muslim country, in the late 1990s.

Palau presently resides in Cedar Mill, Oregon. His ministry, the Luis Palau Evangelical Association, is based in nearby Beaverton. Three of his four sons work for his ministry.

In 1999, a writeup in a Portland weekly newspapers noted that Palau had assembled an 80,000 member audience in "the nation's least-churched major city." It also noted the contrast with the previous large revival, led by an aging Graham, which drew larger numbers but not as many young people as Palau's. Media coverage of Palau's event mentioned Palau as a potential successor to Graham. The annual budget of his ministry was estimated that year at $6 million.

As of 2003, he hosted three daily radio programs: an English show carried by 900 stations in 23 countries, and two Spanish programs carried by 880 stations in 25 countries. In that year he was noted for being "at the forefront of efforts to make evangelism more active, contemporary and accessible to a younger audience," and his ministry's annual budget was estimated at $11 million.

In August 2003, Palau mobilized several thousand volunteers from numerous churches to "spruce up" local public schools.

In November 2005, Palau visited China, wrapping up a week-long visit by attending a Beijing church service along with U.S. President George W. Bush. Luis Palau to Meet Bush in China, Wrap Up Visit | Christianpost.comHe launched a book venture after holding a conversation with a former government Chinese official during his trip to Beijing; Palau launched a book venture based on the transcribed work. The book, now published by Zondervan is entitled A Friendly Dialogue Between An Atheist and a Christian. Shanghai Daily | ???? - English Window to China News

Palau makes a point of staying out of politics, refusing to endorse ballot measure or candidates. Recently he has partnered with secular leaders as well. Former Portland Mayor Vera Katz did not attend his first big Portland event in 1999, but current Mayor Tom Potter, who is not a churchgoer, approached Palau at a 2005 Portland appearance by First Lady Laura Bush. Potter asked for Palau's assistance in getting other evangelical leaders to address Portland's homelessness problems.

Palau got in touch with fellow evangelicals, and cooperated with Portland Commissioner Erik Sten, Potter, Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake, and Gresham Mayor Shane Bemis in 2008 in planning his August 22—23 festival, which will focus on volunteerism in support of the homeless. Palau's last Portland event drew about 140,000 people over two days. Palau addressed 500 Christian pastors in March 2008, joined by Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams, in the buildup to the August event. He calls the effort the "Season of Service."

Palau has written numerous books including:

• Where Is God When Bad Things Happen?
• What To Do When You Don't Want To Go To Church
• Calling America and the Nations to Christ
• God is Relevant
• High Definition Life
• A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian ISBN 978-0310285335