Michael D. Gallagher is the Assistant Secretary for Commerce and Information in the United States Department of Commerce

United States Department of Commerce

The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...

 and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the...

. He was the chief technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

 advisor to former President

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

.

Gallagher was installed into office on October 14, 2003, via a recess appointment

Recess appointment

A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...

, bypassing Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 approval. He has since been approved by the Senate.

Before joining the Department of Commerce, Gallagher was vice president for state public policy

Public policy

Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...

 at Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless

Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....

. Prior to that, he was managing director for government relations at AirTouch Communications, which was merged with Verizon.

Gallagher previously served as administrative assistant to Washington Congressman

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 Rick White

Rick White (politician)

Richard Alan White is an American politician, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. He represented of Washington as a Republican, earning close ties with the Christian Coalition....

 and co-chaired the government relations practice group at the law firm of Perkins Coie

Perkins Coie

Perkins Coie is an international law firm based in Seattle, Washington. It has been listed on the Fortune Magazine "100 Best Places to Work in America" for the past nine years. It is noted for its intellectual property, Labor and Employment, and Products Liability practice groups, and for its...

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Gallagher received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 and his J.D.

Juris Doctor

Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...

 from the University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...

.

On May 17, 2007 the Entertainment Software Association

Entertainment Software Association

The Entertainment Software Association is the trade association of the video game industry in the United States. It was formed in April 1994 as the Interactive Digital Software Association and renamed on July 16, 2003...

 announced Gallagher, former assistant secretary of commerce for communications and chief telecommunications and policy advisor to the Bush administration, would replace founder Doug Lowenstein as president.

Internet governance

Gallagher has opposed the proposals by the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

' Working Group on Internet Governance

Working Group on Internet Governance

The Working Group on Internet Governance was a United Nations multistakeholder Working group initiated after the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society first phase Summit in Geneva to agree on the future of Internet governance....

 to remove the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 and the Domain Name System

Domain name system

The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...

 (DNS) from the United States' control. The proposals will be discussed at the World Summit on the Information Society

World Summit on the Information Society

The World Summit on the Information Society was a pair of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information, communication and, in broad terms, the information society that took place in 2003 in Geneva and in 2005 in Tunis...

 in November 2005. Gallagher believes in private sector

Private sector

In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...

control of DNS.