30 Facts About Fatou Bensouda

Fatou Bom Bensouda is a Gambian lawyer and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who has served as the Gambian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since 3 August 2022.

Fatou Bensouda served as prosecutor at the International Criminal Court from June 2012 to June 2021, after having served as a deputy prosecutor in charge of the prosecutions division of the ICC from 2004 to 2012.

Fatou Bensouda earlier served as a Minister of Justice and Attorney General of The Gambia from 1998 to 2000.

Fatou Bensouda has held positions as a legal adviser and a trial attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

On 2September 2020, Bensouda was named a "specially designated national" by the United States government under the Trump administration, forbidding all US persons and companies from doing business with her.

Fatou Bom Bensouda was born on 31 January 1961 in Banjul, The Gambia, into a polygamous Muslim family.

Fatou Bensouda's father was a landowner who owned several wrestling arenas in the country.

Fatou Bensouda is the niece of the Gambian historian and author Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof.

Fatou Bensouda's father is related to the Joof family through his maternal grandmother Ndombuur Joof.

Fatou Bensouda attended primary and secondary school in the Gambia and moved to Nigeria in 1982.

Fatou Bensouda graduated from the University of Ife with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1986.

Fatou Bensouda became one of Gambia's first experts in international maritime law after earning a master's of laws from the International Maritime Law Institute in Malta.

Fatou Bensouda began her career as state counsel in 1987 in her native country of The Gambia, and then Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in February 1994 for Sir Dawda Jawara's government.

When President Yahya Jammeh took power in a military coup in July 1994, Fatou Bensouda played a central role in the early years of his administration.

Fatou Bensouda was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General in August 1998.

Fatou Bensouda was removed from office in March 2000 by President Jammeh.

Fatou Bensouda is notably accused of various human rights violations including extra judicial killings, harassing the opposition and the press.

Fatou Bensouda has worked under Jammeh for six years and she barely criticised Jammeh's regime for the atrocities it continued to commit.

Fatou Bensouda was appointed as The Gambia's High Commissioner to the UK in 2022 a position she holds to date.

Fatou Bensouda replaced Francis Blain who passed away in January 2022.

Fatou Bensouda was formally elected by consensus on 12 December 2011.

However, the prosecutors did not get permission for a full-scale investigation until after Fatou Bensouda left the court.

On 15 June 2021, after a nine-year mandate as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda stepped down, passing her role to Karim Khan.

Fatou Bensouda is a member of the International Gender Champions.

Fatou Bensouda was previously a member of International Advisory Council, International Board of Maritime Healthcare.

Fatou Bensouda is a member of the International Association of Prosecutors.

Fatou Bensouda served on the Governing Council of the Gambia Committee on Harmful Traditional Practices which is a leading women's rights organization fighting against harmful traditional practices and Member of The Advisory Board of The African Centre For Democracy and Human Rights Studies from 1998 to 2000.

Fatou Bensouda is a former 1st Vice President of The Gambia National Olympics Committee.

Fatou Bensouda has been the recipient of various awards, most notably, the distinguished ICJ International Jurists Award in 2009, which was presented by the then President of India Pratibha Patil.

Fatou Bensouda was presented the award for her contributions to criminal law both at the national and international level.