GENEVA, SWITZERLAND and RESTON, VIRGINIA, USA – 19 January 2011 – An internationally recognized leader in a broad range of Internet policy issues will join the Internet Society as head of its public policy department. As the Internet Society’s Vice President of Public Policy, Markus Kummer will advance key Internet Society policy positions on issues such as privacy, cybersecurity, and network neutrality. Most recently the Executive Coordinator of the Secretariat supporting the United Nations’ Internet Governance Forum, Kummer has extensive experience with Internet policy at the global, regional, and national levels

“Markus’ broad experience with and deep understanding of the key policy issues facing the Internet will help ensure the Internet Society has an even greater impact on issues critical to the Internet’s continued evolution as an open platform for innovation and economic development,” said Lynn St.Amour, the Internet Society’s President and CEO.

Before joining the United Nations in 2004, Kummer held the position of eEnvoy for the Swiss Foreign Ministry in Berne. Mr. Kummer was a member of the Swiss delegation during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) where he chaired several negotiating groups, including the group on Internet governance. He went on to serve as the Executive Coordinator of the WSIS Working Group on Internet Governance from 2004 to 2005. Before his involvement with the WSIS, he served as a career diplomat in several functions in the Swiss Foreign Ministry and was posted in Lisbon, Vienna, Oslo, Geneva, and Ankara.

“In joining the Internet Society, I look forward to advancing the multistakeholder approach to policy that has been so central to the Internet’s development and is even more critical to its future,” said Markus Kummer, who will officially take up his position on 1 February 2011. “With its technical roots, the Internet Society is already established as a uniquely credible leader on policy issues, and a key contributor to policy discussions at the national, regional, and global levels.”