Eduardo Tomás Medina-Mora Icaza (born 30 January 1957 in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

) is a Mexican lawyer. He served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Mexico from 10 March 2015 to 8 October 2019, when the Mexican Senate approved his resignation following a now closed investigation by the country's Financial Intelligence Unit. Medina-Mora was the

Attorney General of Mexico The attorney general of the Republic is the head of the Attorney General's Office (; prior to 2019, ) and the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office of the United Mexican States, an institution belonging to the Federal Government's constitutional ...

(PGR) under President

Felipe Calderón Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa (; born 18 August 1962) is a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the 63rd president of Mexico from 2006 to 2012 and Secretary of Energy during the presidency of Vicente Fox between 2003 and 2004. ...

(1 December

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

-7 September

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Political career

Prior to his Supreme Court Appointment and subsequent resignation, Medina-Mora also served

Ambassador of Mexico to the United States The ambassador of Mexico to the United States is the highest ranking diplomatic representative of the United Mexican States to the United States of America. Brief history Mexico and the United States have maintained diplomatic relations since 1 ...

(2013–15), ambassador to the United Kingdom, Attorney General in the cabinet of the former President of Mexico,

(2006–09), headed the

Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection The Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection ( or SSPC) is a cabinet-level agency of the government of Mexico responsible for supervising public safety and security, including the Commission for the Attention of Intentional Homicide, Natio ...

(2005–06) under former President of Mexico

Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the Nat ...

., and as the director of the now defunct National Center for Intelligence and Security from (2000–05). After a nine-year career in intelligence and security, President Calderon appointed Medina-Mora as Mexico's Ambassador to the United Kingdom; Medina-Mora was confirmed by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on 12 November 2009 with 84 votes in his favour and 7 abstentions. No votes against his designation were received. On 23 February 2010, Medina-Mora presented his credentials to

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

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accrediting him as Mexico's representative to the United Kingdom. The Ambassador attended the ceremony accompanied by his wife, Laura and officials from the Mexican Embassy. Medina-Mora was the Mexico's Ambassador in the United States presenting his credentials to President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

on 14 January 2013. He is also a member of the advisory board for the

Mexico Institute Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. On 10 March 2015, he was elected as Minister of the Mexican

Nation's Supreme Court of Justice Nation's Foodservice, Inc., doing business as Nation's Giant Hamburgers or simply Nation's, is a privately held El Cerrito, California-based regional fast food diner chain. Its menu includes hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, breakfast items, a ...

. He resigned as

that same day. On 3 October,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, Justice Medina-Mora Icaza resigned from the National Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) after it was revealed he is under investigation by the country's Financial Intelligence Unit. These charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence. In his time on the bench, Medina-Mora was a strong advocate for business interests, but also for the legalization of medical cannabis. He also voted to decriminalize abortion in cases of rape.

''Top Gear'' controversy

Following a broadcast of the television programme ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...

'' on 30 January 2011, during which the presenters made several derogatory slurs depicting a stereotypical portrayal of Mexican culture and people, Medina-Mora wrote to the BBC about comments made by

Richard Hammond Richard Mark Hammond (born 19 December 1969) is an English journalist, television presenter, and author. He co-hosted the BBC Two motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James Ma ...

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

and

James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...

about himself and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, demanding a public apology from the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Eligibility controversy

Medina-Mora has been seen as close to the Mexican right-wing PAN party, because he started to work as government official after being designated by the first PAN president of Mexico, Vicente Fox, and continued in to work in key government positions during that government and during Fox successor, president Felipe Calderon, also a PAN party affiliate. Controversy arose regarding his bad reputation and eligibility as Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice for resigning as Ambassador to Mexico in the United States the same day he got elected as Minister because the Mexican Constitution stipulates in Article 95 that to be eligible as Minister you need to reside in the country for the past two years. Additionally, his credentials were heavily criticized by Mexican scholars and Twitter campaigns appeared with the hashtag "#NoHaganMinistroaMedinaMora" ("Do not make Medina Mora Minister").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medina-Mora Icaza, Eduardo 1957 births Living people Ambassadors of Mexico to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Mexico to the United States 20th-century Mexican lawyers Secretaries of public safety of Mexico National Action Party (Mexico) politicians National Autonomous University of Mexico alumni Politicians from Mexico City Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation justices Attorneys general of Mexico 21st-century Mexican judges