Luzius Wildhaber was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1937 and studied at the Universities of Basel, Paris, Heidelberg, London and Yale. He was the first President of the new European Court of Human Rights. Before appointment to this post in 1998, Wildhaber had a distinguished academic career, including being Rector of Basel University, but mostly as Professor in the fields of Public International, Constitutional, Comparative and Administrative Law at the Universities of Basel and Fribourg.
In addition to having served as judge or arbitrator on several other courts and tribunals, Wildhaber is the author of 9 books, over 200 academic articles and is editor of 10 collections of essays. His many honours, honorary doctorates, and visiting Chairs include the Star of Romania, the Order of Merit of Lithuania, and appointment as Visiting Professor at Yale Law School and Honorary Bencher of the Inner Temple, London. Wildhaber has also lectured all over the world and acted as advisor on numerous constitutional and human rights issues, including before the Supreme Court of Canada, on the unilateral secession of Quebec.