Portugal's Teresa Anjinho has been elected as the new European Ombudsman on Tuesday by the European Parliament in Strasbourg. She succeeds Ireland’s Emily O’Reilly, who completes her second five-year term.
Anjinho is an independent expert in human rights and an academic. She serves on the supervisory committee of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and previously was the Deputy Ombudsman of Portugal. She will be sworn in at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on 27 February, and will hold the mandate for five years.
Anjinho secured the position in a second-round vote on Tuesday with 344 votes, surpassing the required majority. She triumphed over five other candidates: Emilio De Capitani (Italy), Marino Fardelli (Italy), Julia Laffranque (Estonia), Claudia Mahler (Austria), and Reinier van Zutphen (Netherlands).
Julia Laffranque, a visiting professor in European law, has served as judge in the European Court of Human Rights in 2011 – 2019. She was also one of the main contenders to the post as European Ombudsman in 2019 and was interviewed by The Brussels Times about the Ombudsman institution.
The European Ombudsman is an independent body that investigates cases of mismanagement within EU institutions. It can initiate investigations independently or based on complaints from citizens, businesses, and organisations.
