In 1713, the Swedish King Charles XII, preoccupied with fighting the Great Northern War, was residing in Bendery and had not set foot in Sweden in over a decade.
In order to re-establish the domestic administration, which had fallen into disarray, he instituted the office of His Majesty's Supreme Ombudsman, which soon became the Chancellor of Justice.
The Chancellor is appointed by the Government of Sweden and serves at the pleasure of the cabinet without belonging to the spoils system, the longest term in office thus far having been 22 years.
The Chancellor attends cabinet meetings as a non-voting member to ensure that legal procedures and regulations are followed.
The Chancellor is appointed for life, but is required to retire at the age of 68, in line with all other Finnish civil servants.