Lobsiger becomes chief data protection officer
The Federal Council today elected Adrian Lobsiger as the new Data Protection and Information Commissioner.
Adrian Lobsiger will succeed Hanspeter Thür, who will leave office at the end of November 2015 after more than 14 years of service. The election is still subject to approval by the Federal Assembly. If confirmed, Lobsiger will take office at the earliest possible date following the Federal Assembly's decision, according to the Federal Council statement. During the transition period, Thür's deputy, Jean-Philippe Walter, will take over the duties of the data protection and public information commissioner (FDPIC) lead.
Many years of practice in data protection
Lobsiger, a 55-year-old lawyer with a doctorate in law, is deputy director of the Federal Office of Police (fedpol). As head of the staff department and the associated Legal and Data Protection Service, he helps to ensure that personal data in the federal office's information systems is processed in compliance with the law, particularly in dealings with domestic and foreign authorities. This core task in terms of data protection also includes drawing up the legal framework for IT projects and the use of new information technologies, as well as providing information in accordance with the Data Protection Act and the Public Information Act.
Lobsiger joined the federal administration in 1992, where he initially worked for the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) in the area of private international law. In 1995 he transferred to fedpol. In addition to his duties for this federal office, he worked from 2001 to 2005 at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts on a part-time basis as founder and head of the postgraduate course on combating white-collar crime as well as the Center of Excellence for Forensics and White-Collar Crime, where the training courses for public prosecutors, later taken over and further developed by the University of Lucerne, were also offered.
The FDPIC is elected for a term of four years. He exercises his function independently and without instructions from any authority, the Federal Council's communication states uncritically.
