Fatou Bensouda

Fatou Bensouda, born on January thirty-first, nineteen sixty-one, is a distinguished Gambian lawyer and diplomat. She has made significant contributions to international law, notably serving as the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from June two thousand twelve to June two thousand twenty-one. Prior to this role, she was the Deputy Prosecutor in charge of the prosecutions division at the ICC from two thousand four to two thousand twelve.

Her career in law began in The Gambia, where she held the position of Minister of Justice and Attorney General from nineteen ninety-eight to two thousand. Bensouda's expertise also extends to her work as a legal adviser and trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), where she played a crucial role in addressing crimes against humanity.

In August two thousand twenty-two, she was appointed as the Gambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, marking a new chapter in her illustrious career. Bensouda's tenure at the ICC was not without controversy; on September second, two thousand twenty, she was designated a 'specially designated national' by the United States government, which imposed restrictions on U.S. persons and companies from engaging with her. However, this designation was revoked by the Biden administration on April second, two thousand twenty-one, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledging the previous sanctions as 'inappropriate and ineffective.'