Bjørn Erik Thon is a Norwegian jurist

Jurist

A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...

 and ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

.

He graduated as cand.jur. in 1989. From 1999 to 2000, during the first cabinet Bondevik

First cabinet Bondevik

Bondevik's First Cabinet governed Norway between 17 October 1997 to 3 March 2000. It was led by Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, and consisted of the Christian Democratic Party, the Centre Party and the Liberal Party. There was a major reshuffle in March 1999. It had the following...

 Thon worked as a political advisor in the Ministry of Justice and the Police

Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Justice and the Police is a Norwegian government ministry in charge of justice, police and domestic intelligence. The main purpose of the Ministry is to provide for the maintenance and development of the basic guarantees of the rule of law...

. He has been a member of Grefsen

Grefsen

right|thumbnail|300px|Grefsen ChurchGrefsen is a neighbourhood of the city of Oslo, Norway.Together with Kjelsås, Grefsen was part of the borough Grefsen-Kjelsås until January 1, 2004, when they became part of the new borough of Nordre Aker....

-Kjelsås

Kjelsås

Kjelsås is a one of the northern suburbs of Oslo situated in Nordre Aker, the northern borough of Oslo, Norway.- History :Together with Grefsen, Kjelsås was part of the borough Grefsen-Kjelsås until January 1 2004, when they both became part of the new borough of Nordre Aker...

 borough council for the Liberal Party. Since 2000 he has headed the office of the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman

Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman

The Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman is a government-appointed ombudsman in Norway for consumer affairs.The office was established in 1973 with Inger Louise Valle as the first holder. The office of the consumer ombudsman sees to it that the marketing of goods and services is done in accordance with...

. His period was renewed in 2007. He succeeded Georg Apenes

Georg Apenes

Georg Apenes is a Norwegian jurist.-Career:Having finished secondary education, he briefly worked as a substitute school teacher in his hometown in 1960 before entering Franklin and Marshall College as a part of the Fulbright Program. He studied there for a year before being enrolled in the...

 as director of the Norwegian Data Inspectorate

Norwegian Data Inspectorate

The Norwegian Data Inspectorate is Norwegian Government agency responsible for managing the Personal Data Act of 2000, concerning privacy concerns...

in late May 2010, though his immediate predecessor was acting director Ove Skåra.

In 2000 he started his career as a writer with his crime novel Svart kappe.