The Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud ( no, Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet) is a Norwegian

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 ...

for

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

and

anti-discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

, and is appointed for a term of six years by the King-in-Council, in effect by the

Government of Norway The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power i ...

. The ombudsman heads the similarly named government agency. The office was established by the Norwegian government in 2006 as the successor of the Gender Equality Ombud (established 1978), the

Centre for Gender Equality The Centre for Gender Equality ( no, Likestillingssenteret, formally ''Kompetansesenter for likestilling'') was a Norwegian government agency that existed from 1997 to 2006 to promote gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual eq ...

(established 1997) and the Centre Against Ethnic Discrimination (established 1998). The Centre for Gender Equality was itself a continuation of the Council for Gender Equality, established as a public body in 1972 on the proposal of the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

(NKF). Former NKF President

Eva Kolstad Eva Severine Lundegaard Kolstad (born Eva Severine Lundegaard Hartvig; 6 May 1918 – 26 March 1999) was a Norwegian politician and government minister for the Liberal Party. A major figure in the history of liberal feminism and the development of ...

was appointed as the first Gender Equality Ombud in 1978, becoming the first person worldwide to hold such a role. The current ombudsman is

Hanne Bjurstrøm Hanne Bjurstrøm (born 20 September 1960) is a Norwegian lawyer and politician representing the Labour Party, who served as Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud from 2016 to 2022. She previously served as Minister of Labour and Social I ...

, a lawyer, former cabinet minister for the Labour Party and former special adviser in the Ministry of the Environment. The agency had 63 employees as of 2014.

Ombudsmen

;Gender Equality Ombudsmen *

(1979–1988) *

Sigrun Hoel Sigrun Hoel (born 10 October 1951) is a Norwegian lawyer, academic, government official and feminist. She served as the 22nd President of the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (NKF) from 1984 to 1988, succeeding supreme court justice Karin ...

(acting, 1984 and 1991) * Ingse Stabel (1988–1994) *

Anne Lise Ryel Anne Lise Ryel (born 7 June 1958) is a Norwegian jurist and politician for the Labour Party. Born in Tromsø, she graduated as cand.jur. from the University of Oslo in 1987. In 1994 she became the new Norwegian ombudsman for gender equality, t ...

(1994–2000) * Kristin Mile (2000–2005) ;Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombudsmen *

Beate Gangås Beate Gangås (born 24 April 1963) is a Norwegian police officer and civil servant. In 2019, she was appointed Oslo Chief of Police. She was born in Asker. In her younger days she played football for Asker. She graduated from the University of O ...

(2006–2010) *

Sunniva Ørstavik Sunniva Ørstavik (born 13 June 1967) is a Norwegian civil servant, who served as the Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud from 2010 to 2016. She is a sociologist by education, and was secretary-general of the Norwegian Council for Ment ...

(2010–2016) *

(2016–)

References

External links

Official site
Ombudsman posts Gender Equality Government agencies of Norway {{Norway-gov-stub