Pedro Callisaya | |
|---|---|
_Ombudsman%27s_Office_of_Bolivia.jpg) | |
| 6th Ombudsman of Bolivia | |
| Assumed office 27 September 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Nadia Cruz (acting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pedro Francisco Callisaya Aro 10 October 1966 La Paz, Bolivia |
| Political party | Independent |
| Alma mater | Higher University of San Andrés Simón Bolívar Andean University |
| Occupation |
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| Signature | _Pedro_Callisaya.svg) |
Pedro Francisco Callisaya Aro (born 10 October 1966) is a Bolivian academic, constitutional lawyer, and jurist serving as the sixth ombudsman of Bolivia since 2022. Callisaya developed his career in academic circles, completing multiple graduate and postgraduate courses in the fields of constitutional law and human rights. After exercising a couple of minor public posts in the late 1990s, Callisaya entered the Ombudsman's Office, where he worked for over a decade. He served for two terms on the Departmental Court of Justice of La Paz from 2012 to 2016 and 2017 to 2021.
In 2022, Callisaya registered his candidacy for the position of ombudsman and was among the group of seven finalists to hold the post. Over the course of four failed votes, Callisaya consolidated his position as the preferred candidate of the ruling Movement for Socialism. However, he remained unable to attain the necessary two-thirds to be elected to the position of ombudsman, with the parliamentary opposition viewing him as too closely aligned with the government. He was finally elected during the fifth round of voting, receiving the support of ninety-five ruling party legislators in a session marked by the absence of opposition parliamentarians. Given the fraught manner in which he was elected, Callisaya's tenure as ombudsman faced the task of recovering the office's credibility as an impartial institution after years of increased politicization.