United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Judge Patricia M. Wald to succeed Judge Gabrielle Kirk McDonald, effective 17 November 1999. Acting pursuant to Article 13(3) of the Tribunal’s Statute, the Secretary-General consulted with the Presidents of the Security Council and General Assembly prior to appointing Judge Wald, who will serve the remainder of Judge McDonald’s term of office until 17 November 2001. The appointment follows the decision of Judge McDonald to resign from the Tribunal (see Press Release 385).

A national of the United States, Judge Wald was born in 1928 and is a graduate of Connecticut College (B.A. 1948) and Yale Law School (LL.B. 1951) and was admitted to the Bar in 1952. She served, among other positions, as a law clerk to Judge Jerome N. Frank of the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals and as Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs in the Department of Justice prior to being appointed to the bench in 1979. Judge Wald has served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit since July 1979, serving as Chief Judge of the Court from July 1986 to January 1991. Judge Wald is a Council Member and First Vice President of the American Law Institute and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.