LIM Ki-Tack elected to head International Maritime Organization from 2016
Voting went through five rounds to decide who will replace Koji Sekimizu at year end
LIM Ki-Tack has been elected as the next secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization in a ballot that went to the wire.
With six candidates in the running it took five rounds of voting before Mr Lim was able to collect more than half the 40 votes from IMO Council members. He beat candidates from Cyprus, Denmark, Kenya, the Philippines and Russia. The South Korean will assume the post on January 1, 2016 for an initial four-year term.
As reported earlier in the election campaign, industry experts confided that they want the next secretary-general to be more than a safe pair of hands and in a recent interview with Lloyd’s List, ahead of the election, Mr Lim said that is what he intends to offer.
The role of the IMO in international diplomacy will require a firm hand at the rudder as it meets the ongoing challenges of both regional rules from entities such as the European Union and the United States, and the challenge to its credibility with regards climate change rules by the UN Framework Convention on Climate change.
About Mr Lim
Mr. Lim is currently president of Busan Port Authority and previously served as the Republic of Korea’s Deputy Permanent Representative to IMO from 2006 to 2009. Prior to that, Lim was Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Flag State Implementation (FSI) from 2002 to 2004.
Read more here: Lim Ki-Tack next IMO secretary-general