An ombudsman (conventional English plural: ombudsmen) is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between either the state (or elements of it) or an organization, and some internal or external constituency, while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests. An indigenous Danish, Norwegian and Swedish term, Ombudsman is etymologically rooted in the Old Norse word umboðsmaðr, essentially meaning "representative". In its most frequent modern usage, an ombudsman is an official, usually appointed by the government or by parliament but with a significant degree of independence, who is charged with representing the interests of the public by investigating and addressing complaints reported by individuals. Modern variations of this term include "ombud", "ombuds", "ombudsperson", or "ombudswoman".

Whether appointed by the legislature, the executive, or an organization (or, less frequently, elected by the constituency), the typical duties of an ombudsman are to investigate constituent complaints and attempt to resolve them, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. Ombudsmen sometimes also aim to identify systemic issues leading to poor service or breaches of people's rights. At the national level, most ombudsmen have a wide mandate to deal with the entire public sector, and sometimes also elements of the private sector (for example, contracted service providers). In some cases, there is a more restricted mandate, for example with particular sectors of society. More recent developments have included the creation of specialised Children's Ombudsman and Information Commissioner agencies.

Conchita Carpio-Morales (born June 19, 1941) is the newly appointed and current Ombudsman of the Philippines. She was previously an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

Carpio-Morales is married to Eugenio T. Morales, Jr., with whom she has two sons, Eugenio III and Umberto.

She was born on June 19, 1941 in Paoay, Ilocos Norte. She is the daughter of Lucas D. Carpio, a judge, and Maria Claudio Carpio.

In 1964, Carpio-Morales earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics at the University of the Philippines. In 1968, she earned a Bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

From 1968 to 1971, she started her career in a Manila law firm where she was an Assistant Attorney. In 1971, a former University of the Philippines professor of Carpio-Morales, Secretary of Justice Vicente Abad Santos, took her in as a Special Assistant at the Department of Justice. From 1971 to 1983, Carpio-Morales worked at the Department of Justice as assistant, lawyer, researcher, assistant special lawyer and senior state counsel before she became a judge.