The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI, German: Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit), referring to either a person or the agency they lead, is tasked with supervising data protection as well as acting in an ombudsman function in freedom of information. The latter was introduced with the German Freedom of Information Act on 1 January 2006. In 2016, it became an independent federal agency under EU regulations.
| Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Bundesbeauftragter für den Datenschutz und die Informationsfreiheit | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | BfDI |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1 January 1978 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Federal agency (Operations jurisdiction) | Germany |
| Operations jurisdiction | Germany |
| Legal jurisdiction | The BfDI is a completely independent authority not being under any external supervision. |
| General nature |
|
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | |
| http://www.bfdi.bund.de | |
Under the motto "Access for one, access for all", the BfDI openly publishes speeches, lectures and documents that have been requested by citizens through Freedom of Information requests.
In 2021, the BfDI was given responsibility for advising and monitoring the Federal Environmental Information Act. In May 2022, the BfDI had the highest relative job growth of all German federal authorities. Between 2017 and 2021, the authority grew by 116%.
In 2024, Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider was elected as Commissioner, succeeding Ulrich Kelber.
List of commissioners
| No. | Name | Time in office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hans Peter Bull | 1978–1983 | SPD |
| 2 | Reinhold Baumann | 1983–1988 | independent |
| 3 | Alfred Einwag | 1988–1993 | independent |
| 4 | Joachim Jacob | 1993–2003 | FDP |
| 5 | Peter Schaar | 2003–2013 | Alliance 90/The Greens |
| 6 | Andrea Voßhoff | 2014–2019 | CDU |
| 7 | Ulrich Kelber | 2019–2024 | SPD |
| 8 | Louisa Specht-Riemenschneider | 2024–present | independent |
See also
- Information commissioner
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