Inger Hansen (11 May 1929 — 28 September 2013) was the first

Privacy Commissioner of Canada The privacy commissioner of Canada () is a non-partisan ombudsman and officer of the Parliament of Canada. The commissioner investigates complaints regarding violations of the federal ''Privacy Act'', which deals with personal information hel ...

from 1977 to 1983 and Information Commissioner of Canada from 1983 to 1990. Hansen was also the first ombudswoman for Kingston Penitentiary in 1973 and became a Commander of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

in 2000.

Early life and education

Hansen was born on 11 May 1929 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. In 1960, she graduated from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

with a

Bachelor of Law A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

. Hansen completed further education with a public administration degree at Queen's University in 1990.

Career

Hansen worked for a publishing house in Denmark before moving to Canada in 1950. Once in Canada, Hansen held multiple jobs before beginning her law studies in 1956. After graduating in 1960, Hansen began her law career. After working in British Columbia as a

criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...

, Hansen worked for the

Solicitor General of Canada The Solicitor General of Canada () was a position in the Canada, Canadian The Ministry, ministry from 1892 to 2005. The position was based on the Solicitor General for England and Wales, Solicitor General in the Great Britain, British system and wa ...

in 1969. While in Ontario, Hansen became the ombudswoman of Kingston Penitentiary after the position was created in 1973. In 1977, Hansen was named the first

. Despite being reelected for an additional four years in 1981, her position as commissioner ended in 1983 after the creation of Canada's Privacy Act. When her term ended, Hansen became the inaugural Information Commissioner of Canada in 1983 and held the position until 1990. After her time as information commissioner, Hansen began working for the

Ontario Court of Justice The Ontario Court of Justice is the provincial court court of record, of record for the Canadian province of Ontario. The court sits at more than 200 locations across the province and oversees matters relating to family law, criminal law, and prov ...

in 1991 and remained in the Ontario justice system until 2003.

Death

Hansen died on 28 September 2013 in Ottawa, Canada.

Awards and honours

Hansen was named a Commander of the

in 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Inger 1929 births 2013 deaths Privacy Commissioners of Canada Commanders of the Order of the Dannebrog