The Hague, The Netherlands, May 17 -- New Skies Satellites N.V. (AEX, NYSE: NSK), the global satellite communications company, announced today that its shareholders have elected Gerd D. Mueller and Don Wear to its Supervisory Board and re-elected the seven members currently serving on the Board.

Mr. Mueller served most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and Financial Officer of the Bayer Corporation, capping a distinguished 34-year career with the company before retiring in 1999. Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of Schott Corporation, a trustee of the Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh and president of CDS International (formerly Carl Duisberg Society) which implements exchange programs for young professionals between the United States and Europe. He lives in the United States and is married with two grown children.

Mr. Wear has spent the majority of his career in the media and telecommunications industries in a variety of legal, regulatory, business and executive positions, most recently running his own business, Wear Multimedia International. Previously, he was President of International Policy and President of International Networks at Discovery Communications, and before that was Vice President and General Counsel of INTELSAT. He has also held executive positions at NBC, CBS and a several telecommunications law firms. Mr. Wear is a member of the Board of Governors of the Banff TV festival and of the Board of Directors of the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the United States. He lives in the United States and is married with one child.

Chairman Terence Seddon said: “We are delighted to welcome both gentlemen to our Supervisory Board. As New Skies competes in an increasingly dynamic market, we will certainly benefit from their considerable commercial experience and the business acumen they have demonstrated over their distinguished careers.”

The shareholders also re-elected the seven directors currently serving on the Supervisory Board for a further one-year term. The directors are: Mr. Terence Seddon (Chairman), Mr. S.K. Fung, Mr. Tetsuo Hashimoto, Mr. Jerry Kolb, Mrs. Neelie Kroes, Mr. Luigi Ruspantini and Mr. Claude Séguin.

ABOUT NEW SKIES SATELLITES (AEX, NYSE: NSK)
New Skies is a global satellite communications company with five satellites in geosynchronous orbit and ground facilities around the world. New Skies has three new spacecraft under construction, which are planned to serve the Atlantic Ocean Region, Asia and the Americas. Headquartered in The Hague, The Netherlands, and with offices in London, New Delhi, São Paulo, Singapore, Sydney and Washington, D.C., New Skies is one of only three fixed satellite services companies with truly global satellite coverage. New Skies offers video, voice, data and Internet communications services to a range of telecommunications carriers, broadcasters, large corporations and Internet service providers around the world. In line with its growth strategy, New Skies has secured rights to make use of six additional orbital positions.

By combining its satellite resources with terrestrial communications facilities, New Skies is developing a broadening range of state-of-the-art, value-added, high-quality satellite communications services. New Skies’ fastest growing revenue stream comes from data transmissions, including Internet traffic and corporate networks. New Skies estimates that approximately 61% of new business in 2000 was for Internet services. The company completed its Initial Public Offering in October 2000, listing on both the Euronext Amsterdam exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

Additional information is available at http://www.newskies.com.
For more information, please contact:
Elizabeth Hess, New Skies Satellites +31 70 306 4133
ehess@newskies.com