European Ombudsman

Nikiforos Diamandouros, newly appointed European Ombudsman (Photo: European Commission)
An ombudsman is a civil servant who considers complaints from ordinary citizens against the public authorities. 

The European Ombudsman was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993. The first elected was Jacob Söderman, a former Finnish Minister of Justice. He retired in 2003, and has been replaced by the Greek ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros.

The EU Parliament normally appoints the Ombudsman for a full election period (five years). Nikiforos Diamandouros was re-elected in 2004 after the EU Parliamentary elections.

Notes

The former European Ombudsman has proposed reforms to the EU institutions and a more modern law on administrative practices in public administration to encourage transparency and more modern administration.

Links

http://www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int/