The origin of the word is found in Old Swedish umbuðsmann (accusative) and the word umbuds man, meaning representative and is non-gender specific. An ombudsman is an official, usually (not always) appointed by the government or by parliament, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individual citizens.In brief,an ombudsman is a person who is appointed to see fair play and adjudicate in any dispute. Our Constitution makes provision under Article 77 for establishing the office of Ombudsman. But Bangladesh is yet to have an Ombudsman although there is an Ombudsman Act [the Ombudsman Act 1980 (Act No. XV of 1980)].

In 2005 the Government had passed the Tax-Ombudsman Act, 2005, to appoint an ombudsman in the tax administration. Under this act a Tax Ombudsman has been appointed for the first time in Bangladesh.

See, Article 77 of the Constitution of Bangladesh, 1972, the Ombudsman Act, 1980, the Tax-Ombudsman Act, 2005.