New Zealander to head Internet oversight board

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2007

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A New Zealand lawyer has been selected as the new chairman of the international Internet oversight agency ICANN, replacing American Vinton Cerf who has lead the agency since its creation in 1998, the organization said on Friday.

Peter Dengate Thrush "has been elected unanimously as the new Chairman of the Board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers," ICANN said in a statement.

"I am delighted that my colleagues have placed their confidence in me for this challenging and important role," Dengate Thrush, who specializes in intellectual property law and helped draft bylaws for the group, said in the statement.

Cerf, sometimes called the father of the Internet, said the selection of the new chair showed the organization...