Mejia to Lead World Maritime University

Professor Max Mejia has been named as the next president of the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, Sweden.

Selected following a competitive selection process, Mejia—the university's current PhD program director and associate academic dean— will succeed Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, whose term as WMU president will expire on June 29, 2023.

WMU was founded by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1983, providing postgraduate maritime and ocean education, research and professional training. Each year, MarineLink's publisher New Wave Media produces a maritime training survey and report in partnership with WMU and Canada-based Marine Learning Systems.

Mejia studied Political Science at the U.S. Naval Academy and went on to obtain a Master of Arts in Law & Diplomacy at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. He is also a graduate of WMU, having received a Master of Science in Maritime Safety Administration in 1994. Mejia has a Licentiate of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy from Lund University in Sweden.

Before joining WMU in 1998, Professor Mejia saw duty on board various naval and coast guard vessels, as well as in shore-based facilities in the Philippines. During a sabbatical from WMU between 2013 and 2016, he served as the administrator (director-general) of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) in the Philippines.

Dr. Doumbia-Henry (LL.B, LL.M, Ph.D, LLD h.c, International Law) joined WMU as president in 2015. Prior to joining WMU, she served as the director of the International Labor Standards Department of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Geneva, Switzerland.