René Oswaldo Blattmann Bauer (born 28 January 1948) is a

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who is a judge of the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

. Prior to his appointment to the ICC Blattmann served as Bolivia's minister for justice and human rights.

Early life and education

Blattmann was born to a father of Swiss descent and studied law at the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

between 1967 and 1971. After graduation, he taught at several universities in Bolivia and abroad.

Political career

In 1993 Blattmann entered politics with the

Revolutionary Nationalist Movement The Revolutionary Nationalist Movement ( , MNR) is a centre-right, conservative political party in Bolivia. It was the leading force behind the Bolivian National Revolution from 1952 to 1964. It influenced much of the country's history since 19 ...

(MNR), serving as the Minister of Justice. He introduced several reforms with regard to human rights. In the presidential elections of 2002, he was the presidential candidate for the Movimiento Ciudadano para el Cambio (MCC). He campaigned for introducing the mechanism of the referendum inspired by the Swiss democracy in Bolivian politics, but was not elected.

Juridical career

Judge Blattmann was elected to the ICC from the Latin American and Caribbean group of states as a member of List B, the list of judges whose experience is in the field of human rights law and international law. He was elected for a six-year term in 2003, and although that term expired in 2009 he remained in office for the duration of the trial of

Thomas Lubanga Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (born 29 December 1960) is a convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the first person convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patrio ...

. He was assigned to the court's trial division and sat as a member of Trial Chamber I. Blattman's term ended in 2012.

Personal life

René is the grandson of Karl Blattmann, a Swiss immigrant to Cachuela Esperanza, Bolivia. He is married to Marianne Schassner and has three children. He does not have a Swiss passport.

Awards

1995 Emblema de Oro from the Bolivian police 1998 Honorary doctorate from the University of Basel 2001

Carl Bertelsmann Carl Bertelsmann (11 October 1791 – 17 December 1850) was a German businessman, publisher, and founder of German company Bertelsmann. Life C. Bertelsmann Verlag was founded as a publishing house and print shop in July 1835 by Carl Bertelsman ...

Prize for the transformation towards democracy during his term as a Minister of Justice. Together with Ana Maria Romero.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blattmann, Rene 1948 births 20th-century Bolivian lawyers 21st-century Bolivian judges International Criminal Court judges Living people Bolivian judges of international courts and tribunals Candidates in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election