The next IMO Secretary General could be an asset for

Seven IMO member states have nominated a candidate for the post of Secretary General of the IMO in what could be a win for diversity in shipping.

Three of the seven are women and if elected, Nancy Karigithu of Kenya would also be the first African woman to hold the post. The other female nominees are Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry (Dominica) and Minna Kivimäki (Finland).

They are joined by nominees Moin Uddin Ahmed (Bangladesh), Suat Hayri Aka (Turkey), Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco (Panama) and Zhang Xiaojie (China).

The term of office of the current incumbent, Kitack Lim of the Republic of Korea, expires on December 31, 2023. The election of the new Secretary General will take place on July 18 at IMO Headquarters and the Council’s decision will be presented to the 33rd session of the IMO Assembly at the end of 2023.

Previous officers were:

Ove Nielsen (Denmark) 1959-1961
William Graham (UK, acting) 1961-1963
Jean Roullier (France) 1964-1967
Colin Goad (Great Britain) 1968-1973
Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (India) 1974-1989
William A. O’Neil (Canada) 1990-2003
Efthimios E. Mitropoulos (Greece) 2004-2011
Koji Sekimizu (Japan) 2012-2015
Kitack Lim (Republic of Korea) 2016-

According to a 2021 study by the IMO and the Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA), gender diversity in shipping is highly fragmented by sector. The Women in Maritime Survey Report, published on the first IMO International Day for Women in Maritime in May 2022, indicates that women make up 29% of the total workforce in general industry and 20% of the workforce in national maritime authorities in Member States turn off .