International Law and Politics Expert Replaces Institute Founder M. Cherif Bassiouni

Alberto R. Coll, the former dean at the U.S. Naval War College and senior official in the George H.W. Bush administration, has assumed the presidency of DePaul University College of Law’s International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI). Coll succeeds IHRLI founder M. Cherif Bassiouni, an internationally recognized authority on human rights law. With Coll’s appointment, Bassiouni will no longer oversee the institute’s daily operations, but will become its president emeritus and continue to be actively involved in its Middle East projects.

Coll has an extensive background in foreign affairs, international law and Latin America. He will bring his expertise in this area to bear as he seeks to expand the institute’s role as a leader in contemporary human rights research, training, publication and advocacy.

“IHRLI was the brainchild of Cherif Bassiouni and under his dedicated and capable leadership it grew into a world player in the area of human rights education and advocacy,” said Glen Weissenberger, dean of the College of Law. “When Professor Bassiouni decided to step away from the enormous demands of directing IHRLI’s daily activities it was a formidable task to identify someone who could not only maintain the excellent work of the institute but also lead it into new areas as the need for human rights legal education and advocacy becomes more pronounced. The job is a perfect fit for Alberto Coll. His background and experience will go far to help IHRLI remain a global leader in advancing human rights and the rule of law.”

A native of Cuba, Coll learned valuable lessons about world politics, law and human rights at the early age of six when he witnessed his father’s arrest for opposing the Cuban government. While his father served nine years as a political prisoner, Coll left Cuba at the age of 13 and moved to the United States where he arrived unable to speak English. He would not see his parents again for 10 years.

Coll won a full scholarship to Princeton and later earned a law degree and a Ph.D. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. In 1982 he joined the faculty at Georgetown University, and in 1986 was appointed Secretary of the Navy Senior Research Fellow at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He eventually became the youngest person to be awarded the college’s Charles H. Stockton Chair of International Law.

In 1990, Coll served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the George H.W. Bush administration. In that role he oversaw the Defense Department’s policy, strategy and budget for special operations forces and low-intensity conflict, including counterterrorism. In 1993, Defense Secretary Dick Cheney awarded Coll the Defense Department’s Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Coll subsequently returned to the Naval War College, where he served as dean and department chair.

Coll’s background and scholarship have made him a much sought after speaker on American foreign policy, U.S. relations with Cuba and Latin America and international legal and political issues. A prolific writer on international relations and law, Coll was anchor of “Global View,” a weekly television show on world affairs featured on A&E’s History International Channel, from 2004 to 2005.

Established in 1990, IHRLI has engaged in human rights training, post-conflict justice and large-scale human rights documentation projects in virtually every region of the world including Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Central and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Africa, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. The institute also operates the Center for Human Rights in the Americas located in San José, Costa Rica.

With his appointment as president, Coll will help to bolster the critical work that IHRLI is currently conducting in the Americas. “As a strong advocate of using international law to promote positive change in our troubled world, I treasure the opportunity to lead IHRLI,” said Coll. “ Under Professor Bassiouni’s inspiring leadership, IHRLI has become a powerful force around the globe working to give a voice to victims of human rights abuses and to advance the rule of law worldwide. I feel very humbled to have been asked to lead the institute’s important work at this critical time.”