Lorenzo Jesús del Río Fernández, born in 1956 in Jódar, Jaén, has been apponted as the new president of the TSJA, the Supreme Court of Justice for Andalucia, beating off competition from Francisco Javier Arroyo, president of the Málaga Court and Joaquín García and Bernardo de Quirós from the Litigation Division of the Supreme Court in Málaga.
Del Rio has a reputation as a moderate and spent most of his professional career with the Supreme Court in Cádiz.
After four years in several municipalities in Cádiz, including Jerez and Sanlúcar, and a brief stay in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Del Rio joined the Supreme Court in Cádiz in 1984 and was elected president in 1998.
A renowned criminal lawyer, he has taught Criminal Law and Prison Law at the University of Cádiz.