Why you should listen

Adrian Lobsiger is the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner of Switzerland until the end of 2023. He sees data protection not only as a duty but also as a competitive advantage for the country.

He works for the lawful and transparent processing of personal data and the right to freedom of information. He operates independently, accountable to the federal parliament representing the public.

With his team of 35, he supervises the federal administration and the private sector. The latter is composed of more than 600,000 Swiss companies. His daily challenge is to find the right balance between guidance and oversight.

Hear Adrian speak at the Worldwebforum 2020 about data privacy and oversight in the digital reality.

Biography

Adrian Lobsiger, born on 27.12.1959, studied European law at the Universities of Bern and Basel and completed a Master’s degree in Exeter (GB). In 1992, he joined the Department of Private International Law of the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) before moving to the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) in 1995, where his last position was Deputy Director.

As head of the staff department and the associated legal and data protection service, he was responsible for the legally compliant processing of personal data in dealings with domestic and foreign authorities. From 2000 to 2005, he founded and managed the postgraduate course on combating white-collar crime and the competence centre for forensics and white-collar crime at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Adrian Lobsiger was elected by the Federal Council in November 2015 and confirmed by Parliament in March 2016. He has been in office since June 2016. At its meeting on 10 April 2019, the Federal Council confirmed the re-election of Adrian Lobsiger as Data Protection and Public Relations Commissioner (FDPIC) for a second term of office until the end of 2023.