[FEBRUARY 10, 1947–]

Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, 1996–1999

Louise Arbour was joint Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from October 1996 to September 1999. She was the second person to hold the position at the ad hoc tribunals, having replaced South African judge Richard Goldstone. The highlights of her term of office include the first indictment in history of a sitting head of state—Yugoslavian president Slobodan Milosevic—and the first prosecution of sexual assault and rape as crimes against humanity.

Background

Arbour was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She studied law at the Université de Montreal, where, in the...