Jacob-Magnus Söderman (born 19 March 1938 in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

) is a Finnish Member of Parliament since September 2007 until 2011 (and earlier in 1972-1982). Söderman is a member of Social Democratic Party of Finland

Social Democratic Party of Finland

The Social Democratic Party of Finland is one of the three major political parties in Finland, along with the Centre Party and the National Coalition Party. Jutta Urpilainen is the current SDP leader. The party has been in the Finnish government cabinet for long periods and has set many...

 and served as Minister of Justice

Minister of Justice (Finland)

-List of Ministers of Justice:...

 (1971), Minister of Social Affairs and Health (1982), governor of Uusimaa Province

Uusimaa Province

The Province of Uusimaa was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997.In 1831 the Nyland-Tavastehus Governorate was divided into the Tavastehus Governorate and Nyland Governorate, and was thus formed....

 (1982–89), Parliamentary Ombudsman

Parliamentary Ombudsman

The Parliamentary Ombudsman is the principal ombudsman authority in Finland, in Sweden and Iceland, charged with the supervision of the public authorities...

 of Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 (1989-95) and the first European Ombudsman

European Ombudsman

The European Ombudsman is an ombudsman for the European Union, based in the Salvador de Madariaga Building in Strasbourg.-History:...

 (1995–2003). Söderman returned to the Parliament in Autumn 2007 when MP Tuula Haatainen resigned in order to become a deputy city manager of Helsinki.

Söderman was the President of the Council for Mass Media in Finland in 2003–2005, a Member of the Board of the University of Helsinki

University of Helsinki

The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...

 2004–2006 and Member of the Group of Wise Persons 2005–2006.

Honours

• Grand Cross of Bernardo O'Higgins Decoration conferred by Chile 1993
• Grand Cross of the Lions Decoration of Finland 1995
• European Information Association Award for Achievement in European Information 1996
• Honorary Doctorate of Political Sciences, Åbo Academy, Finland 1998
• Honorary Doctorate in Law, University of Lapland 1999
• Special Award for the European Ombudsman's Contribution to Dissemination of Information by the Ministry of Education of Finland 2000
• Alexis de Tocqueville Prize, European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA) 2001
• Knight of the French Legion of Honour 2002
• Snellman Prize, Finnish Periodical Publishers Association 2002
• Expatriate of the Year Award 2003
• Consumer of the Year Award, The Finnish Consumers' Association 2005
• Codex medaljen 2006
• Chydenius Prize 2006
• Finnish Humanist Union Prize 2007
• Nordic Administrative Union/Finnish association Prize 2007