ombudsmann.
/ˈɒmbʊdzmən/, U.S. /ˈɑmˌbədzm(ə)n/ 1.
a. Politics. Originally: an official appointed by the Swedish parliament to investigate complaints against maladministration by central government and the civil service. Later: an official with a similar role in another country; spec. (in Britain) the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.The modern parliamentary office of ombudsman originated in Sweden in 1809, with the first justitieombudsman (justice ombudsman) appointed by Parliament to protect against the abuse of power by government and the civil service. This position was supplemented in 1915 by the further appointment of a militieombudsman (military ombudsman), holding a distinct and separate jurisdiction over the military. The office of general parliamentary ombudsman has subsequently been adopted (with modifications) by the governments of many countries, some of the earliest being Finland in 1919, Denmark in 1954, and New Zealand in 1961. In Britain, the post of ombudsman, officially known as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, was instituted in 1967.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > ombudsman
ombudsman1824
Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration1966
ombudsperson1975
1824 Sun (London) 11 Feb. The lad's mother prefers a complaint to the Upper Justice (the Ombudsman), that the police had acted with undue severity towards her son.
1872 Littell's Living Age 20 Jan. 162/1 Captain Lindenberg, the editor of a newspaper, was refused a licence for an additional theatre in Stockholm, which refusal he complained of, as illegal, to the Ombudsman appointed by the States of the Realm.
1959 Listener 16 July 89/1 Sweden has been running the Ombudsman system for 150 years, and Denmark has a very active Ombudsman.
1966 N.Z. News 28 Sept. 3/2 Britain's Ombudsman, Sir Edmund Compton, is now in New Zealand consulting New Zealand's Ombudsman, Sir Guy Powles, about the workings of his office and the way in which he deals with complaints.
1974 M. Gilbert Flash Point i. 12 He had approached..his own member of parliament..the Ombudsman and..the press.
1991 Times Educ. Suppl. 1 Mar. 7/1 The Parliamentary Ombudsman is investigating the Department of Education and Science's conduct.
2002 Afr. News Service (Nexis) 8 Mar. The [Kenyan] Government is working on modalities aimed at establishing the office of the Ombudsman, Attorney-General Mr. Amos Wako said.
b. A person appointed to investigate complaints against maladministration by a particular category of organization or in a particular area of public life, such as local authorities, hospitals, or pensions.
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1962 Canad. Jrnl. Econ. & Polit. Sci. 28 546 In Sweden and Norway the Ombudsman's jurisdiction does not extend to the armed services, because these countries have a special Military Ombudsman.
1969 Daily Tel. 13 Dec. 1/5 Complaints from hospital patients and staff may shortly be dealt with by a special type of Ombudsman.
1978 Times 7 Mar. 4/8 The appointment of local ombudsmen has had a considerable impact on local authority procedures, in the view of the authors of the first critical appraisal of their work.
1982 E. Kallen Ethnicity & Human Rights Canada (1995) ix. 230 Canada has established ombudsmen for two specific..areas..i.e., a linguistic ombudsman, the Commissioner of Official Languages, and a prison ombudsman, the Correctional Investigator.
1990 Banking World Dec. 7/4 The Council of the Office of the Banking Ombudsman has asked him to stay on for another two years.
1991 Which? Aug. 467/3 If you're still dissatisfied, your final option is to contact the Pensions Ombudsman.
2000 Dunoon Observer & Argyllshire Standard 1 Apr. 1/1 Argyll and Bute Council was meeting yesterday to discuss a damning report by the Local Government Ombudsman..over a complaint of maladministration connected with a planning application.
2. In extended use: a person who handles complaints, a mediator; a spokesperson for the rights of a particular individual or group.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > [noun] > settling quarrels or disputes > mediation > mediator
mediatorc1410
recounsellera1425
mid-man1459
stiffler1473
stickler1538
goer1548
ombudsman1970
1970 Harper's Mag. Dec. 59/1 He had come to protest to the newspaper, his only ombudsman that day.
1971 N.Y. Post 15 Nov. 46 She was everywhere, doing everything—columnist, lecturer,..ombudsman for every injustice.
1995 G. Weidenfeld Remembering my Good Friends 19 The adults would draw me in as a messenger: I became a sort of ombudsman, negotiating between my grandmother, my parents and my cousins.
Derivatives
ˈombudsmanry n. the occupation of an ombudsman; the fact or situation of having an ombudsman.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > ombudsman > office or function of
ombudsmanship1966
ombudsmanry1971
1971 New Society 25 Mar. 489/3 It is obvious that local ombudsmanry on a national scale would mean setting up a new light industry.
1999 Guardian (Media section) 4/2 The establishment of a statutory complaints body sends shivers up Lord Wakeham's spine, even if any statutory body did not, in the spirit of Ombudsmanry, possess any executive powers for those found in default.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1824