Norway | Hanne Harlem, the first female Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman

Hanne Harlem began her first term as Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman on February 1st. She was appointed as Parliamentary Ombudsman by the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, in October 2019.

The First Female Parliamentary Ombudsman

Hanne Harlem is the sixth Parliamentary Ombudsman since Supreme Court Justice Andreas Schei was appointed as the first Parliamentary Ombudsman in December 1962. She is also the first female to be appointed as the Parliamentary Ombudsman.

"I am grateful for the confidence the Storting has given me, and I look forward to working on preventing injustice by the public service against citizens.", says Hanne Harlem.

Harlem comes from a position as the City Attorney for the City of Oslo. She has past experience as lawyer at the Office of the Attorney General, Chief Legal Advisor for the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Kreditttilsynet), Solicitor and later Assistant Director for Norsk Hydro.  Within politics she has been a member of Oslo City Government, political advisor for the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs (Barne- og famliedepartementet), City Government member for children and education, and the Minister of Justice.  She has also extensive leadership experience as the Director for the University of Oslo and was the Chairman of the Board for the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Sør-Øst).

Hanne Harlem is the successor of Aage Thor Falkanger, who returned to his position as Supreme Court Justice at the Supreme Court of Norway on January 1, 2020. Bjørn Dæhlin was the Acting Parliamentary Ombudsman from January 1, 2020 until January 31, 2020.

Source: Norwegian Parliamentary Ombudsman