As many predicted, New Zealand lawyer Peter Dengate Thrush has been elected to be the new chair of the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers. Dengate Thrush is the first non-American to hold the position, and replaces the man hailed by many as the "father of the Internet", 64-year-old Vint Cerf, who has held the position since 2000.

Roberto Gaetano of Italy will act as vice chairman. Dengate Thrush is a lawyer who specialises in Internet and trademark law, and his expertise will no doubt be invaluable to ICANN. Dengate Thrush’s appointment comes as ICANN begins testing on international Domain Names (IDNs), and many ICANN members are celebrating the fact that ICANN is becoming less US-centric. Vint Cerf, who in the 70s contributed to the development of the communications protocols which form the basis for the running of the Internet, said that the respective skills of the new chair and vice chairman will complement one another effectively; both men have several years’ experience working with ICANN.