Honoris Causa
Degree of Doctor of Laws (Honoris Causa) is being conferred on Efthimios E. Mitropoulos,
Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization
02.05.09
ORATION
By: Patricia Mallia B.A., LL.D., B.C.L. (Oxon), Ph.D. (IMLI)
It is a great pleasure and honour to introduce to you this morning Mr Efthimios Mitropoulos
who will, today, be receiving the degree of Doctor of Laws honoris causa from the
University of Malta. A man of honour, dignity and determination, Mr Mitropoulos enjoys a
vast record of outstanding achievements and my introduction today must therefore be only a
summary, if you will, of the many accomplishments of this great man.
Mr Mitropoulos was elected Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) – the world’s pre-eminent maritime body – by the IMO Council on 18 June 2003. On
that day Mr Mitropoulos stated that ‘as delighted as I am today, I will be even more so if, at
the end of my four-year term, I am judged to have been successful in the discharge of my
responsibilities and that I have lived up to the expectations of the IMO Members.’ Indeed,
during that period Mr Mitropoulos worked tirelessly to forward the aims and purposes of the
IMO to the extent that his mandate was renewed for a further four years in November 2006.
Mr Mitropoulos is the third Secretary-General of the IMO whom the University of Malta has
chosen to honour with a degree honoris causa. Apart from recognising the exceptional
efforts of these individuals in their challenging role of ensuring safe, secure and efficient
shipping on clean oceans, I believe this gesture also underscores the strong bond that exists
between Malta and ocean affairs. Our Island is intimately linked to the maritime industry and
has one of the largest shipping registers in the world. It has also been at the forefront of
fundamental change in the law of sea regime. In 1967, the Government of Malta, through Dr
Arvid Guido Pardo – Malta’s first Permanent Representative to the United Nations –
proposed an initiative which ultimately led to the adoption of the 1988 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, a veritable Constitution of the Oceans.
The life of the man whom we honour today has also been intricately linked with the oceans;
indeed, from its very inception. Born in Piraeus, Greece on 30 May 1939 to a maritime
family, Mr Mitropoulos has a strong maritime heritage, being the son of a merchant navy
chief engineer officer father and of a mother, the daughter of a shipmaster and owner of
vessels captained by his sons. Mr Mitropoulos has been involved with the maritime industry
since 1957 when he entered the Aspropyrgos Merchant Marine Academy. He was appointed
Captain of the Academy in 1958 and graduated with honours therefrom the year after, as
chief of his class. Apart from his career at sea in the Greek Merchant Navy, from 1965 to
1979 Mr Mitropoulos was a member, and later Head, of the Greek delegation to the IMO. He
also attended the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1975-1977) as the
representative of the Greek Ministry of Mercantile Marine. Furthermore, during his service
with the Greek Maritime Administration he participated at meetings of various international
organizations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD). Between 1967 and 1972, Mr Mitropoulos laid the
foundations for the establishment of Greece’s Joint Maritime and Aeronautical Search and
Rescue Centre. Later, between 1989 and 1998, he led IMO’s endeavours to establish a global
Search and Rescue Plan through various regional conferences.
Mr Mitropoulos studied shipping economics in Italy and marine technology in the United
Kingdom. He is also the author of several books on varied topics such as shipping economy
and policy, types of merchant vessels and the safety of navigation. His book on ‘Tankers:
Evolution and Technical Issues’ was awarded first prize at a Pan-Hellenic competition to
mark the Year of Shipping, 1969. Mr Mitropoulos has also found time to lecture and between
1972 and 1976 he lectured regularly at the Hellenic Coast Guard Academy and the Greek
Master Mariners’ Centre of Superior Studies. Throughout this first-rate career, Mr
Mitropoulos has been bestowed with a vast array of honours such as the class of Commander
of the Order of the Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic, the US Coast Guard Distinguished
Public Service Award, the Silver Bell Award, the Union of Greek Shipowners’ Award for the
Environment, the Golden Anchor Award, and many, many more.
In June 2004, Mr Mitropoulos was appointed Chancellor of the World Maritime University
(Malmo, Sweden) and Chairman of the Governing Board of the IMO International Maritime
Law Institute (IMLI), which we are very proud to have situated on the University premises
here in Malta. Under the committed guidance of Mr Mitropoulos, IMLI has continued to
flourish and has just witnessed the fruitful completion of its 20th academic year. Dedicated to
serving the rule of international maritime law, the Institute continues to make a crucial
contribution to the attainment of the IMO’s objectives directed at ensuring the global,
uniform and effective implementation and enforcement of international maritime law. The
importance of the work of the International Maritime Law Institute has been recognised by
the United Nations General Assembly in its latest Resolution on Oceans and the Law of the
Sea (Resolution 63/111 of 12 February 2009). Furthermore, IMO Assembly Resolution
A.1008(25) of 10 January 2008 described IMLI as ‘a centre of academic excellence in the
maritime legal field ... [which] undertakes original and applied research into aspects of
international maritime law, with a view to promoting the achievement of the highest
practicable global standards in this field and providing a mechanism for the international
exchange, transfer and application of related knowledge.’
Mr Mitropoulos joined the IMO in January 1979 and in 1985 was appointed head of the
Navigation Section in the Maritime Safety Division. This was only the beginning of what
was to become a long-lasting and fruitful association with this Organisation of fundamental
importance. In 1989 Mr Mitropoulos was promoted to Senior Deputy Director for
Navigation and Related Matters and in 1992 he was appointed Director of the Maritime
Safety Division and Secretary of the Maritime Safety Committee. In 2000, he was designated
Assistant Secretary-General. Throughout this period Mr Mitropoulos gained the admiration
and respect of his peers, with his commitment and dedication contributing in no small part to
the continued success of the IMO in achieving its aims of safe, secure and efficient shipping
on clean oceans.
In his position as Secretary-General we see the culmination of the best of Mr Mitropoulos’s
past career and experience in the workings of the IMO. His dedication, courage, exceptional
determination and leadership qualities have spearheaded commendable initiatives directed at
meeting contemporary challenges facing the international maritime community today. Mr
Mitropoulos finds himself occupying the position of Secretary-General of this prestigious
Organization at a time of newly emerging security concerns, in a climate which is fraught
with maritime threats emanating from various corners of the world. The 21st century is
witnessing the immediate threats of terrorism, migrant smuggling, drug trafficking and
piracy, all forms of organized crime which benefit from developments in technology making
possible the use of sophisticated navigational equipment.
The IMO has been at the forefront in combating these maritime security threats; and Mr
Mitropoulos has witnessed a number of landmarks in his position as Secretary-General, not
least, in July 2004, the coming into force of the amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea
Convention (SOLAS) and its accompanying International Ship and Port Facility Security
Code (ISPS Code) directed at safeguarding the security of ships and ports world-wide by
averting threats before they arise. In 2005 the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful
Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation (SUA) 1988 and its related Protocol were
amended, again introducing the concept of averting threats before they are perpetrated. The
amendment relating to the possibility of boarding by non-flag States has been described as
‘the most well-developed boarding procedures and safeguards in any instrument of its type.’
These initiatives embody the introduction of a new approach, directly related to the changing
security environment; they are novel in the sense that international law is generally based on
acting after the event in punishing the perpetrators rather than allowing States to prevent such
acts from occurring. Also in 2005, the 24th IMO Assembly adopted the Voluntary IMO
Member State Audit Scheme.
The IMO has also played a crucial role insofar as the environment is concerned; indeed, the
World Maritime Day theme for 2009 is Climate Change. In the words of Mr Mitropoulos,
‘the choice of this theme will give us the opportunity to focus on an urgent issue of global
dimensions and thus galvanize action at all appropriate levels of the Organization to add
IMO’s contribution to world efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...’. Indeed, the
University of Malta can be described as the cradle of the initial initiative when in 1988,
Professor David Attard suggested to Malta’s Prime Minister at the time, Dr Edward Fenech
Adami, that the conservation of climate change was to be conceived of as the common
concern of humankind. The ensuing proposal to the UN General Assembly culminated in the
1988 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol.
This link between Malta and this topic of crucial and immediate importance was only
recently commemorated, a few weeks ago when this University honoured the United Nations
Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-Moon, for his tireless efforts in this area.
The list of similar steps of progress, together with a number of important Conventions which
have come into force during Mr Mitropoulos’s tenure, goes on and on, and it is impossible to
mention them all. However, one cannot leave this subject without at least alluding to Mr
Mitropoulos’s pivotal role in initiating international action to fight piracy off the coast of
Somalia. ‘Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships’ has been on the agenda of the Maritime
Safety Committee since 1984, and it was on the strength of an IMO Assembly Resolution of
2007 (A.1002(25) of 29 November 2007) that the United Nations Security Council
unanimously adopted Resolution 1816 on 2 June 2008. This is the Resolution which, for a
period of 6 months, permitted naval vessels cooperating with the Transitional Federal
Government of Somalia to enter the territorial waters of Somalia in the fight against piracy
and armed robbery off its coasts. It was Mr Mitropoulos himself who invited the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations, to extend the 6 month validity period of Resolution 1816.
Indeed, the mandate was extended by Resolution 1846 of 2 December 2008. The IMO is
heavily engaged in fighting this scourge, and is playing a crucial role in stimulating action on
the part of the international community.
The IMO is aware that today’s threats recognize no national boundaries, that they are
connected, and must be addressed at all levels. Mr Mitropoulos is driven by this
understanding. In his acceptance speech in 2003, he stated that ‘I believe in the necessity of
change, not as a proof of failure but as an indication that this is a vibrant Organization, full of
energy and determination to adjust to the changing winds while continuing to sail in search of
even calmer seas and safer havens always having enough water under our keel.’
Before closing, I would like to acknowledge the family of Mr Mitropoulos: his wife, son and
daughter. We should dedicate a word of appreciation to them for their support,
encouragement, and no doubt, sacrifices, which they must make while Mr Mitropoulos so
tirelessly pursues his mission.
Shipping is the most international of all the world’s greatest industries and is a major
contributor to the world’s economic growth. Indeed, the IMO’s attention to maritime safety,
security and environmental concerns affects each and every one of us; but, Ladies and
Gentlemen, we are in good hands: with Mr Mitropoulos at its helm leading in a spirit of
cooperation, the IMO is indeed ‘united, focused on the challenges ahead and continuously
relevant to the industry it has been serving for so long’. Mr Mitropoulos is a man of
optimism and vision, with that touch of realism necessary to make such vision a reality.
One of the purposes of a degree honoris causa is understood to be the recognition of a bond
between the body which bestows the honour upon an individual and that individual upon
whom the award is bestowed. More importantly, it also indicates a hope for this bond to
grow in the future. I do indeed augur this today. We would do well to seek inspiration from
his great work, his achievements and his marvellous vision. I would now like to ask you all
to dedicate a very warm applause to the man we are honouring today. We are indeed
fortunate to have him with us this morning.