International IDEA mourns the loss of democracy champion Nicholas Haysom

Haysom devoted his career to the pursuit of justice, democracy, and peace. He was instrumental in South Africa’s democratic transition and played a crucial role in mediation processes in fragile settings across East and Central Africa and South and Southeast Asia. 

As a Member of International IDEA’s Board of Advisers from 2013-2019, Haysom advised the Institute on peace and conflict dynamics, political transitions and negotiated settlements. He drew on his first-hand experience as a constitutional lawyer and adviser during the years of apartheid and the subsequent transition in South Africa, as well as his later work in various crisis contexts as a UN official. In Nepal, he contributed to the Institute’s early work in support of the country’s democratic transition. 

International IDEA will remember Nicholas Haysom for his warm character whose generosity, wisdom and unwavering dedication to democratic governance will continue to be a source of inspiration for the global democracy community.