Tribute to Giovanni Buttarelli
FEDMA is saddened by the news of the loss of Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor.
He was appointed EDPS in 2014 for a term of five years. As EDPS, he actively contributed to the promotion of data protection and privacy while championing an ethical approach to new technologies and data use practices.
Previously, he served as Assistant Supervisor to the EDPS. Before joining the EDPS, he was Secretary General at the Italian Data Protection Authority from 1997-2009. As a Cassation judge in the Italian judiciary, he has long been involved in many initiatives and committees on data protection and related issues at international level.
He had been recently awarded with two prestigious awards by two international organizations commending his continuous commitment to promoting fundamental rights to privacy and data protection: the IAPP Privacy Leadership Award and the EPIC International Privacy Champion Award 2019.
FEDMA board and staff send our heartfelt condolences on behalf of all its members to Mr. Buttarelli’s family and colleagues. Sachiko Scheuing, Co-Chair of FEDMA, initially met Mr. Butarelli some 15 years ago and pays tribute to him today on behalf of FEDMA, “Mr. Buttarelli has advanced the importance of ethics in data use, a message which has since spread around the globe. Europe and the world has lost a brilliant visionary.”
The official notice from the EDPS can be found here.
