Rutsel Martha, a Dutch politician and legal scholar, died on June 3, 2026, at the age of 70.
Born in Willemstad, Curaçao, in 1955, he was also known as Rutsel Silvestre Jacinto Martha. Martha studied law at Leiden University, where he focused on public international law and international organisations, and later earned a master’s degree in international legal studies from the American University Washington College of Law.
He also completed a doctorate at Leiden University. In his career, he served as minister of justice of the Netherlands Antilles from 1998 to 2002 and held senior legal posts with INTERPOL and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.