Rafael Nieto Navia

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Nieto and the second or maternal family name is Navia.

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

Rafael Nieto Navia
Colombia Ambassador to Sweden
In office 13 March 2009 – 26 May 2011
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez Juan Manuel Santos
Preceded by	Fernando Alzate Donoso
Colombia Ambassador to Denmark
In office 15 February 2010 – 26 May 2011
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Preceded by	Fernando Alzate Donoso
Colombia Ambassador to Iceland
In office 9 February 2010 – 26 May 2011
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Preceded by	Fernando Alzate Donoso
Colombia Ambassador to Finland
President	Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Preceded by	Fernando Alzate Donoso
5th President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
In office 1987–1989
Preceded by	Thomas Buergenthal
Succeeded by	Héctor Gros Espiell
Personal details
Born	(1938-02-05)5 February 1938 Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Died	4 December 2024(2024-12-04) (aged 86)
Spouse	María Teresa Loaiza Cubides (1965–2024)
Children	Rafael Nieto Loaiza Juan Carlos Nieto Loaiza Pablo Nieto Loaiza María Teresa Nieto Loaiza
Alma mater	Pontifical Xavierian University (PhD, 1962)
Profession	Lawyer

Nieto was President of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights between 1993-1994. Furthermore he served as Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and he served as Ambassador of Colombia to Sweden with dual accreditation to Denmark, Finland and Iceland.

Legal career

Nieto served as Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for more than five years. Four of them as a member of the Appeals Chamber and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda,^{[clarification needed]} and more than one year as a member of the Trial Chambers. He served as Judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights 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 for four years.

Ambassadorship

On 7 January 2009, Chancellor Jaime Bermúdez Merizalde announced that Nieto had been appointed Ambassador to Sweden by President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, stating that Nieto was a "super internationalist, very well respected, and with a lot of tradition" .^[1] Chancellor Bermúdez sworn him in the next month on 10 February as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Colombia to the Kingdom of Sweden serving concurrently as Non-Resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of Finland, and the Republic of Iceland.^[2] Nieto moved to Stockholm shortly after to take up his office, officially presenting his Letters of Credence to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf King of Sweden on 13 May 2009;^[3] as Non-Resident Ambassador, he presented his credentials to the President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson on 9 February 2010, and to Her Majesty Margrethe II Queen of Denmark on 15 February 2010.^[4][5][6]

Personal life and death

Nieto was born on 5 February 1938, in Bogotá, 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.^[7]

Nieto died on 4 December 2024, at the age of 86.^[8]