Bjørn Erik Thon (born 6 February 1964) is a Norwegian
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
and
ombudsman
An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...
.
Career
He graduated as
cand.jur. in 1989. From 1999 to 2000, during the
first cabinet Bondevik Thon worked as a political advisor in the
Ministry of Justice and the Police. He has been a member of
Grefsen-
Kjelsås
Kjelsås, sometimes called Kjelsaas, is one of the northern neighbourhoods of Oslo situated in Nordre Aker, the northern borough of Oslo, Norway.
History
Together with Grefsen, Kjelsås was part of the borough ''Grefsen-Kjelsås'' until Ja ...
borough council for the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world.
The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. From 2000 to 2010, he headed the office of the
Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman. His period was renewed in 2007. He succeeded
Georg Apenes as director of the
Norwegian Data Inspectorate in late May 2010, though his immediate predecessor was acting director Ove Skåra.
Ombudsman of Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination
On 19 November 2021, he was nominated to succeed
Hanne Bjurstrøm as ombudsman of the
Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud. He became the first man to hold the position. He assumes office on 28 February 2022.
In July 2022, Thon argued that the incident of a Russian woman not being granted a job interview due to her nationality, was a clear example of discrimination. He also emphasised that it was important to differentiate between the Russian state and individual Russian citizens. He was supported by lawyer Henriette Willix from Advokatfirmaet Sulland.
Writing
In 2000, he started his career as a writer with his crime novel ''Svart kappe''. He followed with the crime novels ''Den tause klienten'' in 2002 and ''Den enes død'' in 2004. In 2005 he wrote the consumer issues book ''Forbrukerjungelboka'' with
Ola Fæhn.
References
1964 births
Living people
Norwegian jurists
Directors of government agencies of Norway
Norwegian crime fiction writers
Norwegian non-fiction writers
Ombudsmen in Norway
Liberal Party (Norway) politicians
Politicians from Oslo
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