Rafael Nieto Navia (5 February 1938 – 4 December 2024) was a Colombian jurist and political scientist. Nieto was President of the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

between 1993-1994. Furthermore he served as Judge of the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

and he served as Ambassador of Colombia to Sweden with

dual accreditation Dual accreditation is the practice in diplomacy of a country granting two separate responsibilities to a single diplomat. One prominent form of dual accreditation is for a diplomat to serve as the ambassador to two countries concurrently. For examp ...

to Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

Legal career

Nieto served as Judge of the

for more than five years. Four of them as a member of the Appeals Chamber and the

International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; ; ) was an international court, international ''ad-hoc'' court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in United Nations Security Council Resolution 955, Resolutio ...

, and more than one year as a member of the Trial Chambers. He served as Judge of the

for twelve years, and he was President of the same for three and a half years. He also served as Auxiliary Magistrate of the Constitutional Chamber of the

Supreme Court of Colombia The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia () in Bogotá is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in Colombia. The court consists of twenty three judges, elected by the same institution i ...

for four years.

Ambassadorship

On 7 January 2009,

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Jaime Bermúdez Merizalde Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...

announced that Nieto had been appointed Ambassador to Sweden by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Álvaro Uribe Vélez Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish language, Spanish, Galician language, Galician and Portuguese language, Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez (surname), ...

, stating that Nieto was a "''super internationalist, very well respected, and with a lot of tradition''" . Chancellor Bermúdez sworn him in the next month on 10 February as

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of the Republic of Colombia to the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic country by both area ...

serving concurrently as Non-Resident Ambassador to the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm, officially the Kingdom of Denmark, or simply Denmark, is a sovereign state consisting of a collection of constituent territories united by the Constitution of Denmark, Constitutional Act, which applies to the entire territor ...

, the

Republic of Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and the

Republic of Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. Nieto moved to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

shortly after to take up his office, officially presenting his

Letters of Credence A letter of credence (, ) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to another, asking them to give ...

to His Majesty

Carl XVI Gustaf Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. Having reigned since 1973, he is the longest-reigning monarch in Swedish history. Carl Gustaf was born during the reign of his paternal great-grandfather, K ...

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

on 13 May 2009; as Non-Resident Ambassador, he presented his credentials to the

President of Iceland The president of Iceland () is the head of state of Iceland. The incumbent is Halla Tómasdóttir, who won the 2024 Icelandic presidential election, 2024 presidential election. The president is not involved in the running of the country, bu ...

Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016.

on 9 February 2010, and to Her Majesty

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen of Denmark from 14 January 1972 until her abdication on 14 January 2024. Having reigned for exactly ...

Queen of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous territories of the Faroe Islands and Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark was alrea ...

on 15 February 2010.

Personal life and death

Nieto was born on 5 February 1938, in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, D.C. to Eduardo Nieto Umaña (1904–1946) and Teresa Navia Harker (1904–1991). He married María Teresa Loaiza Cubides on 28 August 1965. They had four children: Rafael, Juan Carlos, Pablo, and María Teresa. Nieto died on 4 December 2024, at the age of 86.Reacciones por el fallecimiento del reconocido jurista Rafael Nieto Navia, expresidente de la Corte IDH

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nieto Navia, Rafael 1938 births 2024 deaths Diplomats from Bogotá Pontificia Universidad Javeriana alumni Academic staff of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana 20th-century Colombian judges 21st-century Colombian judges International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda judges International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia judges Ambassadors of Colombia to Denmark Ambassadors of Colombia to Finland Ambassadors of Colombia to Iceland Ambassadors of Colombia to Sweden Inter-American Court of Human Rights judges Colombian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals Colombian judges of international courts and tribunals