The Ombudsman maintains many international contacts. Ombudsmen from several countries and representatives of comparable oversight bodies meet in a variety of compositions at seminars and conferences.

Cooperation involving the ombudsmen in the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States as well as the European Ombudsman take place on a regular basis. Interactions with the Chancellor of Justice in Estonia have been lively.

Many of the Eduskunta's international visitors also familiarise themselves with the Ombudsman's work.


The institution of the ombudsman originated in Sweden. In 1809 the national parliament, the Riksdag, created the post of Riksdagens justitieombudsman.

Ombudsman is Swedish for "representative". The first holder of the post was charged by the Riksdag with the task of exercising oversight to ensure that courts and authorities acted in accordance with the law. The aim was thus to safeguard the rights of citizens.

The ombudsman was to promote uniform application of the law, and highlight ambiguities in legislation. He was to perform his task by carrying out inspections and examining complaints.

Finland's ombudsman institution world's second oldest

Following the Swedish model, Finland created the post of Parliamentary Ombudsman in 1920. Thus, the institution of the Finnish ombudsman is the world's second oldest.

The institution of the ombudsman spread to the other Nordic countries in the mid-20th century. In Denmark, the post of Folketingets ombudsmand was created in 1955. In Norway, the first Stortingets ombudsman assumed his post in 1962.

In both of these countries, the powers of the ombudsman are more limited than in Sweden and Finland. The institution later spread to other parts of the world, mainly following the Danish model.

The institution is spreading to many parts of the world

The 1970s saw the instituton of the ombudsman gain a foothold in New Zealand, in Canadian provinces and Australian states. Since then, an institution of this kind has been established in most European countries.

The functions of an ombudsman have likewise been created in Central and Eastern European countries since the 1970s. The institution is known in some African countries, many countries in Central and South America and nowadays in Asian and Pacific countries as well.

According to the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI), there are now ombudsmen in around 140 countries. However, some of them are regional or local.

Italy and Germany are examples of countries that do not have parliamentary ombudsmen.

The European Ombudsman

The European Union created the post of European Ombudsman in 1995.

The task of the European Ombudsman is to oversee the action of union institutions to ensure they observe the principles of good governance.

The first incumbent of the office was Jacob Söderman, who had formerly been the Parliamentary Ombudsman of Finland. The present incumbent is Emily O'Reilly from Ireland.