The ten-year tenure of the island’s first Information Commissioner comes to an end today.

Gitanjali Gutierrez said it had been an honour to serve the Bermudian public.

She added: “I am deeply proud of the strong-integrity institution my colleagues and I have established in the ICO.

“Through our collective work, along with the efforts of stakeholders within the public and public authorities, access to public information has become a critical right that supports citizens’ voices and accountability.”

Former governor George Ferguson appointed Ms Gutierrez to the post in March 2015. She was reappointed to another five-year term in 2020.

A statement from the Information Commissioner’s Office explained: “Ms Gutierrez established the ICO as Bermuda’s newest good-governance office and worked to ensure that the promise of the Public Access to Information Act 2010 was realised for all Bermudians and residents.”

Pati is a vehicle through which access can be granted to information held by more than 200 public authorities on the island.

The ICO statement said: “Throughout her time as Information Commissioner, Ms Gutierrez strove to promote and uphold the public’s right to access information and to ensure that public authorities had the guidance and support required to successfully comply with the requirements of Pati.

“As amendments to the rights under the Pati Act have been considered throughout the years, she remained a strong and consistent advocate for preserving the robust right to access and providing opportunities for public consultation.”

Ms Gutierrez led the office through challenges such as the pandemic and the 2023 cyberattack.

The ICO said: “Under her leadership, the ICO has issued more than 230 decisions reviewing public authorities’ handling of Pati requests and, when required, she issued legally binding decisions ordering public disclosure of records.

“During her tenure, the ICO won the landmark decision in Information Commissioner v Attorney-General before the Court of Appeal to secure the Information Commissioner’s authority to inspect withheld records to conduct her review.”

Bermuda’s ICO joined the International Conference of Information Commissioners executive committee in 2021 and was re-elected two years later.

The statement said: “These international relationships have provided invaluable support and resources to further its work”.

The office thanked Ms Gutierrez for her “unwavering commitment to public access to information”.

A Government House spokeswoman said LaKai Dill, who was named Deputy Information Commissioner in October, will be acting Commissioner from tomorrow until a permanent appointment is made.

She added that the search for an Information Commissioner is complete and the appointment is expected to be announced next week.