The Equality Ombudsman ( sv, Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, , discrimination

ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

, DO; formerly sv, Jämställdhetsombudsmannen, , equality ombudsman, label=none, JämO) is a

government agency in Sweden The government agencies in Sweden are state-controlled organizations that act independently to carry out the policies of the Government of Sweden. The ministries are relatively small and merely policy-making organizations, allowed to monitor the ...

tasked with supervising the laws relating to discrimination on the basis of someone's

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

, transgender identity or expression,

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation or age. It was formed on 1 January 2009 from the four previously separate ombudsmen tasked with different aspects of discrimination.

History

The term

refers to the office with staff, as well as being the title of its government-appointed acting head. Its main task was to monitor the function and adherence to four laws that regulated gender equality: the Equality Act, the Equal Treatment of University Students Act, the law prohibiting discrimination and other degrading treatment of children and pupils, and as of 1 July 2005, also the law prohibiting gender discrimination. JämO also worked to increase awareness of the four laws through information and advocacy, and to promote equality in workplaces, colleges, schools, employment training, training institutions, as well as several other areas of society. In 2006 the government's budget for the authority was 27.9 million SEK. The JämO between 2000 and 2007 was

Claes Borgström Claes Gustaf Borgström (21 July 1944 – 15 May 2020) was a Swedish lawyer and politician. He served as Equality Ombudsman (''JämO'') from 2000 until 2007. A member of the Social Democratic Party prior to 2013, he joined the Left Party i ...

, who left in order to start a law firm with former

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

Thomas Bodström Thomas Lennart Bodström (born 9 April 1962) is a Swedish former politician of the Swedish Social Democratic Party. He is also a former footballer, and is best remembered for representing Allsvenskan side AIK between 1987 and 1989. Thomas Bo ...

. Prosecutor Anne-Marie Bergström was appointed on 16 August 2007 to succeed Borgström. She kept the post until the four discrimination ombudsmen were merged into one agency on 1 January 2009. Former Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination Katri Linna was the first head of the new authority. Following strong criticism from several quarters, the Government decided on 1 February 2011 to transfer Katri Linna to a post within the Government Office. On 23 June 2011, the government appointed Agneta Broberg as DO.

JämOs/DOs since founding

Prior to the agency merger

* Inga-Britt Törnell, 1980–1987 *

Gun Neuman A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

, 1987–1994 * Lena Svenaeus, 1994–2000 *

, 2000–2007 * Anne-Marie Bergström, 2007–2009

Following the agency merger

* Katri Linna, 2009–2011 * Agneta Broberg, 2011–2020 * Lars Arrhenius, 2020–

References

External links

Official website
(in English) {{authority control Government of Sweden

Equality Ombudsman The Equality Ombudsman ( sv, Diskrimineringsombudsmannen, , discrimination ombudsman, DO; formerly sv, Jämställdhetsombudsmannen, , equality ombudsman, label=none, JämO) is a government agency in Sweden tasked with supervising the laws relati ...