Now that ICANN Board Directors are picked in secret meetings, according to secret procedures, by a committee packed with members of the current dominant faction, the results (leaked by Andy Mueller-Maguhn, and quoted below) are what you would expect: not one known and active ICANN dissident has survived the 'NomCom'. Here's the short version: Andy Mueller-Maguhn got replaced by a former member of the board of Deutsche Telekom. Karl Auerbach got replaced by the President of the U.S. Council for International Business. Note that the 'NomCom' is a misnomer -- these's no way for you or me to challenge these decisions, nor will there be an open election on these 'nominations'.

So the folks in North America and Europe who voted for a different viewpoint are frozen out, as only the elected directors from the other regions -- those who didn't rock the boat -- got reappointed! The other immediately evident trend: several corporate types, lots of people with ISOC connections. And one small bright spot. No more Board Squatters. Yes, long after he was supposed to go (September 30, 1999), almost three years after the very latest date for his departure that could be called legitimate ("expire no later than September 30, 2000"), Hans Kraaijenbrink's war against the public interest is finally going to have to be waged elsewhere.

Amidst a depressing sea of familiar faces and business and telecom executives, there are one or two people who at least show some signs of caring about about the end users. I don't know them, but from a quick google search Njeri Rionge (Africa) sounds interesting, as does Veni Markovski (Europe). This is based only on a very cursory first look, and I don't mean to slight others, or express too much confidence either. I'd particularly welcome comments from readers who are acquainted with any of the newly selected Board members.
Update: 06/16 18:42 GMT

Date: Mon, 16 Jun 2003 18:32:38 +0200
From: Andy Mueller-Maguhn {andy@ccc.de}
To: icann-news@lists.ccc.de
Subject: fwd: ICANN Nominating Committee decisions

The ICANN Nominating Committee (NomCom) has completed its work and will be posting the results on the ICANN web site {http://www.icann.org} and NomCom web page {http://www.icann.org/committees/nom-comm} in the next few hours. We are very grateful to all who have participated in the 2003 Nominating Committee process.

We are pleased to report that the Internet community responded well to the Formal Call and the diverse outreach and recruiting efforts in which many constituencies participated. The Committee received 115 Recommendations and 110 Statements of Interest, drawn from all five of the geographic regions. The Committee has been impressed by the diversity of individuals who submitted Statements of Interest in serving in these ICANN leadership roles. Clearly there is strong talent and good willingness to volunteer for service in this community.

After careful deliberation, the Nominating Committee reached consensus on the following slates of Nominees, each of whom has agreed to accept the responsibility of the role. They will assume their duties during the ICANN meeting in Montreal.

ICANN Board

Term: Conclusion of June 26, 2003 ICANN meeting - Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2003
Masanobu Katoh (Asia/Australia/Pacific)
Veni Markovski (Europe)
Hualin Qian (Asia/Australia/Pacific)

Term: Conclusion of June 26, 2003 ICANN meeting - Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2004
Ivan Moura Campos (Latin America/Caribbean islands)
Vinton Cerf (North America)
Tricia Drakes (Europe)

Term: Conclusion of June 26, 2003 ICANN meeting- Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2005
Thomas Niles (North America)
Njeri Rionge (Africa)

Term: Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2003 - Conclusion of Annual Meeting 2006
Hagen Hultzsch (Europe)
Veni Markovski (Europe)
Hualin Qian (Asia/Australia/Pacific)


GNSO Council

Term: From Notification of selection - Conclusion of the Annual Meeting 2004 Amadeu Abril i Abril (Europe)

Term: From Notification of selection - Conclusion of the Annual Meeting 2005 Demi Getschko (Latin America/Caribbean islands) Alick Wilson (Asia/Australia/Pacific)

Interim At Large Advisory Committee (ALAC)

Term: From Notification of selection - Conclusion of the Annual Meeting 2004 Roberto Gaetano (Europe) Kenneth Hamma (North America)

Term: From Notification of selection - Conclusion of the Annual Meeting 2005 Sunday Folayan (Africa) Tommi Matsumoto (Asia/Australia/Pacific) Tadao Takahashi (Latin America/Caribbean islands)

The biographies of these Nominees will be posted shortly on the ICANN web site. The Nominating Committee will also be posting a summary of its work, and there will be a presentation of its report during the Open Forum of the Montreal ICANN meeting.

On behalf of the Nominating Committee. I want to express special appreciation to you for allowing yourself to be considered in this search for Directors, GNSO Council Members and Interim ALAC Members. We look forward to your continuing engagement with ICANN.

I also want to assure you that no personally identifiable information received in the search will be retained, and all discussion information will be destroyed as the 2003 Nominating Committee implements the final tasks under its commitment to confidentiality.

The Nominating Committee process will begin again for 2004 once a new Nominating Committee has been chosen, probably sometime near or after ICANN's 2003 annual meeting. I encourage you to watch for announcements and to participate as a Candidate in the 2004 search process.

Update: 06/16 18:42 GMT by Michael:In addition to the info sent to rejected candidates, quoted above, ICANN's official press release adds this info [slightly reformatted]:

In response to its 5 April 2003 Formal Call, the Nominating Committee received 115 recommendations of potential candidates from all over the world. Out of 110 individuals who subsequently submitted a Statement of Interest, NomCom selected 17 outstanding individuals for staggered terms in the leadership roles as ICANN implements its organizational restructuring. The terms range from five to forty-one months in length. Nine individuals were selected to serve on the Board of Directors. Five individuals were selected for the Interim At-Large Advisory Committee (which coordinates participation by individual Internet users in ICANN's activities), and three individuals were selected for the Council of the Generic Names Supporting Organization (which develops policy concerning domain names in generic top-level domains such as .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz).

The Nominating Committee was asked to find high-caliber, experienced, open-minded women and men with integrity, sound judgment, and objectivity. "We used a holistic approach, focusing on the careful selection of slates of Candidates with complementary skills and perspectives who fulfilled the ICANN criteria and eligibility requirements," Wilson explained, "and we kept all the Candidates in consideration until the final slates were chosen."

Through these strategies the Nominating Committee pursued its dual charge: to balance the other ICANN leadership selection processes which are based on Supporting Organizations and Constituencies and to help ensure that ICANN can benefit from the leadership of the women and men of the highest integrity and capability who place the public interest ahead of any particular interests. These carefully selected slates will help ICANN ensure functional, cultural, and geographic diversity in its policy development and decision-making as the Internet itself evolves.

The Nominating Committee:

An independent Nominating Committee is a key element of the newly reformed ICANN structure. It is composed of a diverse set of individuals chosen by the groups and entities that make up ICANN and by various Internet Standards-Development Organizations. The Nominating Committee is charged to act in the interests of the global Internet community rather than in accord with specific interests. It is presently responsible for selecting 8 of fifteen Board Directors, 5 of fifteen Interim ALAC Members, and 3 of fifteen GNSO Council Members.

For more information about the Nominating Committee, its Members, Formal Call and Procedures please visit its web page. Further questions or requests can be sent via e-mail to Mary Hewitt at {hewitt@icann.org} with subject line "Press - NomCom Results".

Nominating Committee Selection Statistics:

Total Number of Candidates: 110

Geographic Distribution:

Region        Distribution        Distribution of
              of Candidates           Nominees

Africa                        5%              12%

Asia/Australia/Pacific       25%              23%

Europe                       31%              29%

Latin America/Caribbean
islands                       8%              18%

North America                31%              18%

Total                       100%              100%



Candidate Citizenship:


Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada,
Chile, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, 
India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, 
Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Portugal, 
Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, 
Switzerland, Taiwan, Uganda, UK, USA and Zimbabwe.


Nominee Citizenship:


Brazil, Bulgaria/Macedonia, China, Germany, 
Italy, Japan, Kenya, New Zealand, Nigeria, Spain, 
UK and USA.


Gender Distribution:


Gender        Candidates         Nominees

Male            83%                    88%

Female          17%                    12%

Total           100%                   100%

Recommendations Received:
Total Number of Recommendations: 115
Total Number of Recommendees: 96
Total Number of Recommendees who submitted a Statement of Interest: 45
Percentage of Recommendees who submitted a Statement of Interest: 47%