Ramón Escovar Salom

Ramón Escovar Salom (Barquisimeto, Venezuela, July 23, 1926 – Caracas, September 9, 2008) was a Venezuelan politician, lawyer, and academic. He served as minister in the cabinets of Raúl Leoni, Carlos Andrés Pérez, and Rafael Caldera, in addition to having been a deputy, senator, ambassador, and also Attorney General of the Republic between 1989 and 1994, where he accused President Carlos Andrés Pérez of corruption, which led to his removal and subsequent debate over a possible conflict of interest.

Early years Escovar Salom graduated in Law in 1949 and earned a doctorate in Political Science from the Central University of Venezuela, in Caracas.

He served as a tenured professor at that university; as a researcher at Harvard University in the United States (1979–1981); Escovar Salom was suddenly dismissed during the second day of an official visit to Poland.

Ambassador to France and Representative to the UN In the diplomatic field, Escovar Salom served as Venezuelan ambassador to the Government of France (1986–1989) which resulted in his removal by Congress and a subsequent trial. Pérez accused him of conspiring to convict him.

Chief Prosecutor in The Hague In 1993, Escovar Salom was appointed by the United Nations Security Council as Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands,

Minister of Interior Escovar Salom held the position of Minister of Interior (1994–1996), this time in the second government of Rafael Caldera. Ramón Escovar Salom died on September 9, 2008, in Caracas due to cancer.