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Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC)

General Information: For information on the Governmental Advisory Committee, please visit the GAC's webpage. For an overview of the GAC, see "The Internet Domain Name System and the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)", available in:

The GAC adopted its Operating Principles [.DOC, 80K] on 25 May 1999 and amended them in April 2005.

Communiqués: The Governmental Advisory Committee issues communiqués after its meeting to report its activities and recommendations:

Other Documents:

Chair and Vice Chairs:

  • Chair
    • Ms. Heather Dryden (Canada)
  • Vice Chairs
    • Ms. Maria Hall (Sweden)
    • Ms. Alice Munyua (Kenya)
    • Mr. Choon Sai Lim (Singapore)

Structure and Responsibilities:

The ICANN Bylaws (Article VII, Section 3(b)) describe the Governmental Advisory Committee as follows:

There shall be a Governmental Advisory Committee. The initial chairman of the Governmental Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Board and shall hold that position until the election of his or her successor; subsequent chairs shall be elected by the members of the Governmental Advisory Committee pursuant to procedures adopted by such members. Membership of the Governmental Advisory Committee shall be open to all national governments. Membership shall also be open to Distinct Economies as recognized in international fora, and multinational governmental organizations and treaty organizations, on the invitation of the Governmental Advisory Committee through its Chair, or on invitation of the ICANN Board. Members of the Governmental Advisory Committee shall appoint one accredited representative to the Committee. The accredited representative of a member must hold a formal official position with the member's public administration. The term "official" includes a holder of an elected governmental office, or a person who is employed by such government, public authority or multinational governmental or treaty organization and whose primary function with such government, public authority or organization is to develop or influence governmental or public policies. The Governmental Advisory Committee should consider and provide advice on the activities of the Corporation as they relate to concerns of governments, particularly matters where there may be an interaction between the Corporation's policies and various laws, and international agreements. The Board will notify the chairman of the Governmental Advisory Committee of any proposal for which it seeks comments under Article III, Section 3(b) and will consider any response to that notification prior to taking action.

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