ombudsman (ämˈbədzmən) [key] [Swed., = agent or representative],
public official appointed to deal with individual complaints
against government acts. The office originated in Sweden in 1809
when the Swedish legislature created a riksdagens
justitieombudsman, or parliamentary agent of justice, and in the
20th cent. it has been adopted by a number of countries. As a
government agent serving as an intermediary between citizens and
the government bureaucracy, the ombudsman is usually
independent, impartial, universally accessible, and empowered
only to recommend. In the United States the term ombudsman has
been used more widely to describe any machinery adopted by
private organizations (e.g., large business corporations and
universities) as well as by government to investigate complaints
of administrative abuses. In 1969, Hawaii became the first of
many American states to appoint an ombudsman. See studies by G.
Sawyer (2d ed. 1968), F. Stacey (1978), and D. C. Rowat (2d ed.
1986). The Columbia Electronic Encyclo