Dick Marty was born in Sorengo on the 7th January 1945. Marty received his doctorate in law from the University of Neuchâtel and began his career as a specialist on Swiss law. He lived in Freiburg, Germany, from 1969 until 1975, based at the section on Swiss law at the Max Planck Institute.
He returned to Switzerland in 1975, taking up a position as state prosecutor in the canton of Ticino, where he ran vigorous campaigns against drugs and organised crime. Much of Mr Marty’s career has been spent within Ticino politics. He was elected onto the canton’s executive in 1989 after a glittering stint as prosecutor that included commendations by the US government and anti-drug agencies. He continued as a member of the Ticino executive until 1995, when he entered elected office, first in Switzerland.
Later, in 1998, he was elected to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, where he sits with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. Within the council, Mr Marty serves on a number of influential committees. He chairs the legal affairs and human rights committee and serves on the political affairs committee, among a host of others. The Council of Europe has a wide membership not restricted to European Union members, and is responsible for overseeing the European Court of Human Rights. Mr Marty has thus emerged as an influential figure in the controversy over the US policy of extraordinary rendition.
Sources
BBC news ‘Profile: Dick Marty available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4526418.stm last accessed on 14th May 2014.
Parliamentary Assembly ‘Dick Marty’, available at http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/AssemblyList/AL_MemberDetails.asp?MemberID=4023 last accessed on 14th May 2014.