Emily O’Reilly is a journalist, author and news broadcaster who was voted Ireland’s first female Ombudsman in 2003. In 2013, she was elected European Ombudsman by the European Parliament. An ombudsman is an official who investigates complaints against financial institutions, government departments or other public entities and attempts to resolve them. As the European Ombudsman, she investigates maladministration in the institutions and bodies of the European Union. Her current term comes to an end in 2024.
O’Reilly was born on October 20, 1957 in Tullamore, Ireland. She was educated at University College, Dublin; Trinity College, Dublin and Harvard University. She has written three critically acclaimed books on Irish politics and media and is a member of the Advisory Board of Harvard’s ‘Nieman Foundation for Journalism’. She has also served as Information Commissioner in Ireland and Commissioner for Environmental Information. As a journalist, she won two awards – Woman Journalist of the Year in 1986 and Journalist of the Year in 1994.
In 2016, O’Reilly featured on Politico’s list of women who shape the European Union. She was awarded the ‘Schwarzkopf Europe Award’ in 2017, the Prague European Summit ‘Vision for Europe Award’ in 2018, and the University of Flensburg ‘Europa prize’ in 2020 in recognition of her work.
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