Steve McIntyre is the New Debian Project Leader
The results of the election are confirmed: Debian veteran Steve McIntyre has won the Debian Project Leader (DPL) election in the third round of voting.
McIntyre campaigned for DPL in both 2006 and 2007, and has worked on the free operating system since 1996. This time it finally worked and McIntyre will be taking over as DPL from Sam Hocevar (who did not stand for reelection) April 17. McIntyre had two strong competitors in Raphael Hertzog and Marc Brockschmidt. A total of 1075 developers were eligible to vote – more than ever before – and some 49 percent of them actually cast a vote. The ballot is based on the fairly complex Condorcet system. The voters rank the candidates and the winner is the majority choice. The Debian project page has details of the voting and the election results.
In his election campaign Steve McIntyre had focused on improving communications between developers and still regards this as the main issue confronting the free distribution. The new project leader will be responsible for the next stable version 5.0, Codename "Lenny", which is due for release later this year. The DPL holds office for a period of one year following which the next elections are held.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Dutch Government Turns to Open Source for Digital Sovereignty
Following in the footsteps of European countries, the Netherlands is looking to increase its sovereign digital infrastructure with open source software.
-
Linux May Soon Work on Snapdragon X2-Based PCs
If you're thinking about buying a Snapdragon X2-based desktop or laptop, Linux may soon be an option.
-
KDE for People Initiative Calls for AI Ban in Plasma
A new community of KDE wants the project to adopt a strict no-AI policy for KDE Plasma.
-
KDE Sets Ambitious Goals for 2026 and Beyond
KDE Connect reveals the goals for the Linux desktop darling, with one of those goals long overdue.
-
It’s Time to Test Fedora 45 Beta
Fedora 45 beta has been released with updated Gnome, KDE Plasma, and kernel.
-
Ubuntu Stonking Stingray Gets Even Rustier
Ubuntu 26.10 has completed its migration to the Rust-based coreutils.
-
AI Fixes Linux Bottlenecks Using “Hideous” Code
A Linux developer used AI to fix bottlenecks that caused problems when building the kernel. The resulting AI-generated code needed a lot of work.
-
Advanced Video Coding Still Under Patent
Brazilian patent BRPI0109962B1 has expired, which means that DivX and Xvid are no longer problematic for Linux, but it doesn’t mean that video is all of a sudden fully unleashed.
-
2,000 Vulnerabilities per Linux Release
Thanks to AI bug hunters, the Linux kernel is seeing record numbers of vulnerabilities, and it's overwhelming developers.
-
Linux Exempt from California’s Age Verification Law
So long as Linux is distributed under the GPL, MIT, BSD, and Apache licenses, the OS is exempt from being required to verify the age of its users in California.
