Born in the northern city ofTrujillo, La Libertad, Quesada was raised in Huanta, Ayacucho. From a very young age, he registered himself in the Peruvian Aprista Party. After finishing his high school education at María Auxiliadora Grand School Unity in 1981, he travelled to Lima in order enroll in the Universidad de San Martín de Porres to study law. He was able to finish his law degree in 1996. Simultaneously with his college education, Quesada served in a variety of positions within the Peruvian Aprista Party's Regional Committee. In 1985, he rose to the position of Deputy Regional Secretary General of the party in Ayacucho, and Provincial Secretary General for Huanta from 1992 to 1993.
Career
In 1999, the party National Convention elected Quesada as Secretary of Organization, serving in the position until his election as Ayacucho's first democratically elected Governor. Elected Mayor of the Province of Huanta in 1993, he lost reelection in 1995. In 2002, he was elected as the first Governor of Ayacucho. He failed to attain reelection in 2006. In 2007, he was appointed by Alan García's administration as Director of the Informal Property Formalization Agency. During his tenure, he was subject to controversy amidst irregularities in his management of the government agency, being accused of allowing a property in southern Lima to be sold for $1750 USD. A case was opened against him and six other agency officials. He resigned on 24 April 2010.
Upon his resignation from COFOPRI, Quesada was elected at the party's 2010 National Convention as Institutional Secretary General, alongside Jorge Del Castillo as Political Secretary General. In his seven-year tenure in the party leadership, he oversaw the ceremonies for the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance's 90th Anniversary in 2014. At the 2016 general election, he was slated to run for a seat in the Andean Parliament with the Popular Alliance list. At the same time, Quesada dealt with the Christian People's Party on sealing negotiations in order to confirm the electoral coalition with his party and Alan García's presidential nomination. Upon the election turnout, he announced the dissolution of the coalition on 11 April 2016, following the poor results attained by the presidential ticket. Quesada served as Secretary General until the 2017 convention elected his successor, third-term congressman Elías Rodríguez.
