Former Latvian minister for social integration Nils Muiznieks has been elected the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights.
Muiznieks, 47, received an absolute majority of 120 votes cast by the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) at its plenary session on Tuesday.
He succeeds Thomas Hammarberg of Sweden and will serve a term of six years starting on April 1, 2012.
Muiznieks was born in California. He earned his bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University in 1986. From the University of California at Berkeley he earned a master’s degree in political science in 1988 and a doctorate in 1993.
From November 2002 to December 2004, Muiznieks held the post of Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration Affairs in the Latvian Government.
Since 2005 he has been the member for Latvia of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) and became its chairman in January 2010.
The Office of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent, non-judicial institution within the Council of Europe.
Its function is to “foster greater awareness of human rights, support national human rights institutions, identify shortcomings in law and practice concerning human rights and promote full enjoyment of human rights in all 47 member states of the Council of Europe.”
The commissioner makes regular visits to the member states to engage in dialogue with governments and civil society and draw up reports on issues falling within his mandate.
