Spiros Simitis

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Spiros Simitis (Greek: Σπύρος Σημίτης; born 19 October 1934) is an internationally respected Greek-German jurist and a pioneer in the field of data protection. In recognition of his role, admirers sometimes describe him as "the man who invented data protection". He was appointed Chief Data Protection Commissioner for the state of Hessen in 1975, and remained in post till 1991. When the West German government prepared for the 1978 launch of a national equivalent, he was seen by commentators as the obvious choice for the post of Federal Commissioner for Data Protection. He was indeed offered the job, but he rejected it in protest against the government decision, taken shortly before launch, to cut the resources allocated to the new department. That involved reducing the staffing level at the new commission from 32 - "previously agreed as necessary" - to 20. "The state of Bavaria on its own is budgeting no fewer than twenty data-protection staff for the coming year - a telling comparison" ("Allein das Land Bayern sehe für Datenschutz-Aufgaben in seinem eigenen Bereich im kommenden Jahr nicht weniger als zwanzig Bedienstete vor -- eine "bezeichnende Relation""). Spiros Simitis obtained West German citizenship in 1975. His younger brother, Costas Simitis, served as Prime Minister of Greece and was leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) between 1996 and 2004. (Source: DBPedia)