A
public official appointed to
investigate complaints by
citizens against
local or
national government agencies that may be infringing upon the
rights of
individuals. Call me a
goombah, but I don't think I've ever
lived anywhere where they had an ombudsman. I don't think they
exist anymore. I've heard of
ombudsmen who work at
utilities like the
electric company or
the phone company, but their
jobs seem to be taking
complaints from
customers and making sure those complaints never get a
response.
Addendum: webtoe notes that ombudsmen remain common officials in
England (and likely, elsewhere in
Europe) and that they have the same duties and responsibilities across
the Pond as they did over here. Just goes to show the
importance of thinking
globally when you make writeups...
Addendum Addendum: Truffle adds that ombudspersons are very prevalent in
Canada (
British Columbia in particular), and the Canadian model of ombudspersons is currently spreading into other
nations' public administrations.
Addendum Addendum Addendum: Ahab notes that
National Public Radio is another organization that has an ombudsman and points out that many ombudsmen in the United States are called "
auditors" or "
auditors general".