Born: February 10, 1947
Place of Birth: Montreal, Quebec
Major Notes:
Louise Arbour was an Ontario Supreme Court judge who later accepted the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The previous Commissioner had been killed in a terrorist bombing attack in Baghdad, Iraq.
Arbour came from a supportive family who owned a hotel chain.
Her high school education came through attending a convent school where she was editor of the school newspaper.
By 1967, Louise Arbour qualified for a B.A. degree and in 1970 had received her law degree from the University of Montreal.
While continuing her education towards another law degree at the University of Ottawa, she was able to work as a law clerk for a Canadian Supreme Court judge.
Arbour wrote many articles on such topics as criminal procedures and human rights.
In 1996, Arbour accepted to be the Chief Prosecutor for investigations for suspected abuses in Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
Three years later, she was chosen to become a judge for the Supreme Court of Canada.
Louise Arbour is respected around the world for the sound decisions she has made often dealing with very difficult cases of law.
She has received many awards including doctorate degrees from over 25 universities.
In 2004, Louise Arbour was approved by the UN General Assembly to become the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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