IMO elects new Secretary-General

Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco from the Republic of Panama has been elected as the new Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for a four-year term starting on January 1, 2024. The election is subject to approval by the IMO Assembly later this year.

The UN Agency’s Council voted to appoint Dominguez Velasco during its 129th session, which is meeting between July 17th and July 21st, 2023. The outcome of the vote will be submitted to the IMO Assembly for sign-off at its meeting to be held between November 27th and December 6th, 2023.

Dominguez Velasco joined the IMO Secretariat in 2017. Since January 2022, he has been head of the Organization’s Marine Environment Division.

He follows Kitack Lim, who will step down on December 31st at the end of his term of office.