BackIt is with great sadness that the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) has learned of the recent passing of Stephen Owen, former Ombudsman of British Columbia and former IOI President, in Vancouver at the age of 74.
The lawyer, politician and civil servant was admired for his thoughtfulness, empathy and intellect and for being incredibly accomplished. He was gentle, humble, and broad in perspectives. Born in Vancouver in 1948 to a prominent and politically active family, Mr Owen earned a law degree from the University of British Columbia, an MBA from the University of Geneva and successfully completed a master’s programme in international law at the University of London.
He taught in Nigeria for two years, before becoming a legal aid lawyer in Surrey and eventually the Director of the Legal Services Society of British Columbia. Mr Owen’s career also included positions as Head of the Commission on Resources and the Environment and Deputy Attorney General in the provincial civil service. Later in his career he turned to politics and held federal cabinet positions in three ministries: Western Economic Diversification, Public Works and Government Services, and Minister of State of Sport.
In 1986, Mr Owen was appointed Ombudsman of British Columbia and served as IOI President from 1988 to 1992. He was one of the first Ombudsman to be awarded Honorary Life Member of the IOI in recognition of his visionary approach to the direction in which the IOI should develop. This was due to his emphasis on the importance of training and capacity building for existing Ombudsman institutions, as well as his encouragement of the establishment of new institutions, particularly in Latin America and Eastern Europe, through support, technical assistance, and advice from the IOI. He offered a substantial and innovative way forward in his belief that the IOI needed to develop its relations with human rights organisations. Therefore, Mr Owen contributed significantly to the IOI’s promotional role in spreading the Ombudsman concept during his presidency.
As Ombudsman he was tireless. He released a prolific number of important reports including many that addressed political interference in public administration. Those reports resulted in important and lasting changes in public administration.
In 1992, he was appointed to the CORE commission to resolve environmental resource disputes. In the 2000, 2004 and 2006 federal elections, Mr Owen was elected as the Liberal MP for Vancouver Quadra. In 2007, he resigned from politics to become vice-president for external, legal and community relations at the University of British Columbia.
In addition to these important roles, he was active in many international initiatives. He travelled to many countries as a legal adviser to Amnesty International in the 1980s and 1990s to investigate and report on human rights violations. He set up human rights conferences in Cambodia and Thailand while working as a consultant for the Canadian International Development Agency. Moreover, he served as a commissioner for the Canadian Law Commission.
His passing is a great loss for the international Ombudsman community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his friends and his colleagues, in these difficult times.
Source: The International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)
