Rianne Monique Letschert (born 13 September 1976) is a Dutch law scholar. Since November 2021 she has been president of

Maastricht University Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; nl, Universiteit Maastricht) is a public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities. In 2021, 22,383 students studied at ...

. Previously Letschert was professor of

victimology Victimology is the study of victimization, including the psychological effects on victims, the relationship between victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system—that is, the police and courts, and c ...

and international law at

Tilburg University Tilburg University is a public university, public research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg in the southern part of the Netherlands. Tilb ...

between March 2011 and September 2016. From September 2016 until 1 February 2022 she was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Maastricht University.

Career

Letschert was born in

Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Low Saxon: ) is a city and municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the province of Gelderland called the Achterhoek. The municipality had a population of in ...

on 13 September 1976. She moved at an early age to

Stiphout Stiphout is a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant. It is located in the municipality of Helmond, about 2km west of the centre of that city. The village is mentioned for the first time in 1155 as 'Villa Stilpot', and in 2005 the village ...

in the municipality of

Helmond Helmond (; called ''Héllemond'' in the local dialect) is a city and municipality in the Metropoolregio Eindhoven of the province of North Brabant in the Southern Netherlands. Helmond is home to several textile and metal companies. The Vlisco fa ...

. In Helmond she attended high school. Letschert studied law at Tilburg University, the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

and the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public university, public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest univ ...

. She obtained her

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

at Tilburg University with a thesis titled ''The impact of minority rights mechanisms'' (2005), dealing with competing international organisations making policy on national minorities. In 2011 Letschert was appointed as professor to the new chair of victimology and international law at Tilburg University. Several years later Letschert contemplated leaving academics. In May 2015 she was awarded an 800,000 Euro grant by the

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The Dutch Research Council (NWO, Dutch: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) is the national research council of the Netherlands. NWO funds thousands of top researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course of ...

and decided to continue. Her research focused on the impact of international tribunals on societies and individuals that have been confronted with human rights violations and international crimes. Apart from her position as professor she served as director of the International Victimology Institute Tilburg (INTERVICT). In 2016 Letschert was asked to become dean of the Law faculty of Tilburg University. However, on 1 September 2016 she was appointed as

. Letschert joined the De Jonge Akademie (Young Academy) of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, abbreviated: KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed ...

in 2012. In April 2015 she became chairperson. Due to her appointment as rector magnificus of Maastricht University she was succeeded as chairperson by Rens Vliegenthart in June 2016. Letschert was a Schermer Fellow at the

Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is an independent research institute in the field of the humanities and social and behavioural sciences founded in 1970. The instit ...

in the period between February and June 2016.

External links

Profile Maastricht University

Profile Google Scholar

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letschert, Rianne 1976 births Living people Dutch legal scholars International law scholars Academic staff of Maastricht University People from Doetinchem Rectors of universities in the Netherlands Tilburg University alumni Academic staff of Tilburg University Victimology