Laila Susanne Vars

Laila Susanne Vars is a Norwegian-Sami human rights lawyer and former politician. Elected rector of Sámi University of Applied Sciences 2019-2023. First Sámi woman to achieve a PhD in Law. Vars is appointed by the Government of Sweden, Ministry of Culture as Commissioner of the Truth Commission for the Sámi People in Sweden. She is former research director at the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) and former Expert member of the United Nations' Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) 2017-2023.

She led the Sami Árja party from 2008 to 2010, and was vice president of the Sami Parliament of Norway from 2009 to 2013. In 2013, she became the director of the Gáldu Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which was based in Kautokeino Municipality, Norway. When Gáldu was integrated into the NHRI in 2017, Vars worked AS research director at the NHRI. In 2023 she was elected as chairperson for RIKSSCENEN, The Norwegian Hub for Traditional and Sámi Music and Dance RIKSSCENEN and the same year she was also elected as member of the board of the Sámi Music Festival. https://www.samieasterfestival.com/min-birra-25?lang=en

In 2023 Vars was elected as member of the Municipality Board of Guovdageainnu suohkan- Kautokeino kommune 2023-2027, and as member of the Chairmannship (Formannskap) of the Municipality. She represents the sámi political party Árja.

In 2022 Vars was appointed as Commissioner in the Truth Commission for the Sámi People in Sweden. She is the only Commissioner who´s not a Swedish citizen in the Commission, and was appointed based on her international expertise in Truth and Reconciliation processes, Indigenous Peoples Rights and Constitutional Law.

Vars works currently at the Sámi Parliament in Norway as Senior Advisor in the Section for Parliamentary Administration and Elections.