Fabiola Letelier

Fabiola Alicia Letelier del Solar (17 July 1929 – 18 November 2021) was a Chilean lawyer, noted for her activism and defense of human rights in Chile and Latin America. She was the founder and president of CODEPU (1980–1998), and a plaintiff lawyer in the case surrounding her brother Orlando Letelier's assassination in 1976. On 23 July 2018, she was awarded the National Human Rights Prize, awarded by the National Institute of Human Rights.

Early life and education Letelier was born 17 July 1929, in Temuco, Chile, the eldest of three children. Her father was a printer, and her mother was a poet and homemaker. She was raised largely in Santiago. She was encouraged to pursue opportunities normally closed to women, and graduated from law school at the University of Chile in 1963.

Activism Letelier became a lawyer and worked for the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C. There she was influenced by the civil rights movement. As one of Chile's leading human rights lawyers, Fabiola pursued justice for her brother's assassination.

Personal life Letelier married Fernando Leiva, with whom she had four children. They later divorced . She died from complications of stroke November 18, 2021, at her home in Santiago, Chile.