Tribute to former Commissioner, Dr Peter Harris

Dr Peter Harris
Bailiwick of Guernsey Data Protection Commissioner (October 2001 – September 2012)

The ODPA was saddened to hear of Peter’s death on 10th July 2022. He was the Bailiwick’s first Data Protection Commissioner, taking up the role as the 2001 data protection law came into effect.

Under Peter’s leadership the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) was established. The ODPC’s existence gave members of the public, for the first time, a formal legal route to hold organisations to account over how their data was treated. Peter strongly believed that Guernsey’s size should not be a barrier to excellence, and in 2007 he hosted the International Working Group on Data Protection in Telecommunications which attracted a large European delegation.
He also played a key role in the Bailiwick achieving its first ‘adequacy’ finding from the European Commission (EC) in 2003. An adequacy decision from the EC is essential to the continued success of the Bailiwick’s economy as it allows EU organisations to easily transfer data to the Bailiwick.

Peter’s academic background along with his humility and cheeky sense of humour made him an approachable and thoughtful leader. He was utterly devoted to his wife and children. One wonderful memory of Peter was the day after his first grandchild’s birth, he came into the office overcome with excitement and love for his new family member and eagerly shared photos of the newborn with his staff. A sweet gentleman, who will be sorely missed, and remembered very fondly.

The Bailiwick’s Data Protection Commissioner, Emma Martins, commented "My thoughts are with Peter’s family at this sad time. Peter was a huge support for me personally when I took up this role and I will always be grateful for his professionalism, integrity and friendship. He has also left our office with a wonderful legacy that will always be remembered. We are indebted to him, and the Bailiwick is indebted to him."