Nils Muižnieks
| Nils Muižnieks | |
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| Commissioner for Human Rights | |
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Assumed office 1 April 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Thomas Hammarberg |
| President European Commission against Racism and Intolerance |
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In office 1 January 2010 – 31 March 2012 |
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| Director Advanced Social and Political Research Institute University of Latvia |
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In office December 2005 – March 2012 |
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| Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration Affairs Government of the Republic of Latvia |
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In office November 2002 – December 2004 |
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| Director Latvian Centre for Human Rights |
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In office June 1994 – November 2002 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
31 January 1964 Los Angeles, United States |
| Spouse(s) | Andra Fedder |
| Alma mater |
University of California at Berkeley Princeton University |
| Website |
Commissioner's website Commissioner's Twitter account: @CommissionerHR |
Nils Muižnieks (born 31 January 1964 in the United States) is a Latvian-American human rights activist and political scientist. He has served as the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights since 1 April 2012, succeeding Thomas Hammarberg (2006–2012) and Álvaro Gil-Robles (1999–2006).
Muižnieks' parents, Ansis and Ingrid, were both refugees who left Latvia in 1944. They spent 6 years in displaced persons camps in the American zone in Germany before moving to the United States in 1950. His father is a retired medical doctor and his mother was trained as an architectural historian. Born and educated in the United States of America, Nils Muižnieks obtained a Ph.D. in political science at the University of California at Berkeley (1993). Prior to that, he graduated as a Bachelor of Arts in politics at Princeton University summa cum laude and obtained a Master of Arts degree in political science from the same University (1988). In 1992 he married Andra Fedder, who is a piano teacher and singer, with whom he has two daughters, Laila and Milena. Latvian and English are his mother tongues, and he is also fluent in French and Russian.
Prior to his appointment as Commissioner for Human Rights, he held prominent posts such as Programme Director at the Soros Foundation-Latvia, Director of the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Latvia in Riga (2005–2012); Chairman of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (2010–2012); Latvian minister responsible for social integration, anti-discrimination, minority rights, and civil society development (2002–2004); and Director of the Latvian Centre for Human Rights and Ethnic Studies (now Latvian Centre for Human Rights) (1994–2002). Member of the Latvia's First Party (2003-2005), its co-chairman and one of its ministers in the Government.
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