A new senior coroner for Derby and Derbyshire has been announced by Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council.
Peter Nieto has been appointed to the role of HM Senior Coroner for Derby and Derbyshire and will take up his new post on 4 September, taking over from Dr Robert Hunter who retired in July.
Mr Nieto is currently the area coroner for Derby and Derbyshire and has been in that role since 2019.
Originally training and working as a social worker, Mr Nieto completed a post graduate diploma in law in 2005 and began working as a solicitor in several roles before taking up the position of assistant coroner for Derby and Derbyshire in 2016.
The main role of the Coroner Service is to scrutinise local deaths where, for various reasons, a doctor is unable to issue a medical certificate of cause of death, or because a person’s death was in some way unnatural or suspicious.
The Coroner’s Office for Derby and Derbyshire is run by the county and city council, with the county taking the lead, although as a judicial appointment, coroners themselves are independent and responsible to the Crown.
Mr Nieto has jurisdiction for the whole of Derby and Derbyshire in his role, presiding over both Chesterfield and Derby Coroner’s Courts.
Mr Nieto said: “I feel very honoured to have been appointed as senior coroner for Derby and Derbyshire. I was first appointed as a coroner for Derby and Derbyshire in 2016, and I am very grateful to all my service colleagues for their support and guidance since then.
“There really is a super team of people in the service who are committed to the work they do, and I look forward to working with them as senior coroner to make further improvements and deliver an efficient and compassionate coroner’s service to the people of Derby and Derbyshire with bereaved families at the heart of what we do.”
Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Health and Communities Councillor Carol Hart said: “I very much welcome the appointment of Peter Nieto to this important role which carries a great deal of responsibility and calls for a wealth of experience, professionalism and compassion.
“Peter brings all those qualities to the role, and so much more, and I am sure he will carry out his responsibilities to the people of Derby and Derbyshire to the highest degree.”
Councillor Baggy Shanker, Leader of Derby City Council, said: “On behalf of the council, I extend my congratulations to Peter on his appointment as His Majesty's Senior Coroner for Derby and Derbyshire. He is highly respected in his field and, with his extensive expertise, I know he will continue to serve the community with dedication and fairness.”