Nils Muižnieks is the newly elected Commissioner of Human Rights at the Council of Europe. He has served as Latvia’s Special Assignments Minister for Social Integration Affairs, as well as the director of the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute at the University of Latvia. Muižnieks was born and raised in the United States, where he received a PhD in political science from the University of California at Berkeley. He provides enlightened insight into how Latvia’s experiences in dealing with various human rights issues can contribute to promoting openness and democracy in Europe.