Understanding This Article

Article 73 establishes democratic election procedures for the Board's leadership, ensuring leaders are accountable to Board members while providing stable, experienced leadership through substantial terms.

Election from amongst members (paragraph 1) means the Chair and deputy chairs must be heads of Member State supervisory authorities or the European Data Protection Supervisor (per Article 68(3)). External appointments aren't permitted—leadership comes from practicing data protection regulators with direct enforcement experience. This ensures leaders understand authorities' practical challenges and maintain credibility with Board members.

Simple majority election allows efficient leadership selection without requiring supermajorities that might prevent any candidate from winning. If the Board has 28 members (27 Member States plus EDPS), a candidate needs 15 votes. This threshold is achievable while ensuring leaders have meaningful support.

Two deputy chairs provide leadership redundancy and workload sharing. With the Board's extensive Article 70 tasks, a single Chair would be overwhelmed. Deputies can lead working groups, represent the Board at events, manage specific issue areas, and act when the Chair is unavailable. Geographic or functional balance might be considered (e.g., Chair from a large Member State, deputies from small/medium Member States, or balance between different regulatory approaches).

Five-year terms with one renewal possibility (paragraph 2) balance stability and rotation. Five years provides substantial time to develop expertise, implement priorities, and see initiatives through. Renewal possibility rewards effective leadership and preserves institutional knowledge. However, the ten-year maximum prevents entrenchment, ensuring leadership rotates and fresh perspectives emerge.

The renewable five-year term aligns roughly with political cycles (European Parliament terms are five years, Commission mandates are five years), facilitating coordination with EU institutions while maintaining the Board's independence. However, the Board Chair's term isn't tied to political cycles—chairs are elected by the Board based on competence, not political appointment.

In practice, Board Chairs have been high-profile, experienced data protection authorities from major Member States. The role requires diplomatic skills (building consensus among diverse authorities), technical expertise (understanding complex data protection issues), public communication abilities (representing the Board to media, stakeholders, institutions), and administrative capacity (overseeing secretariat, managing processes). The election system ensures these qualities are valued by fellow regulators.