There is a change of guard at the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada as Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano,
the representative of Italy is set to succeed Nigeria’s Dr Olumuyiwa
Bernard Aliu as the sixth Council President.
Aliu has held the position for two consecutive terms since 2014.
Sciacchitano will be ICAO President for a three-year term, beginning 1
January 2020.
He was announced as the next Council President after an election of
the 36-member council which he won with 19 votes against his closest
contestant, Captain Aysha Alhameli of United Arab Emirates who got 13
votes.
ICAO in a statement said, “The 36-member governing body of the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the ICAO Council,
has elected Mr. Salvatore Sciacchitano of Italy as its President for a
three-year term, beginning 1 January 2020.”
Mr. Sciacchitano’s candidacy had been endorsed by the 44 General
Directors of the European Civil Aviation Conference. His election
follows an accomplished 39-year career in aviation, during which he
served inter alia as General Director of the Italian Airworthiness
Authority (RAI), as Deputy General Director of the Italian Civil
Aviation Authority (ENAC), and many other international positions
including as Executive Secretary of the European Civil Aviation
Conference (ECAC; 2010–2018).
He has also participated in several ICAO Assemblies as Chief or
Alternate Chief of the Italian Delegation to ICAO, as well as the
Chief Delegate of ECAC. He had also recently been appointed to the
Italian Delegation to the ICAO Council.
Sciacchitano is fluent in English, French and Italian. He graduated as
a Master in telecommunication engineering “cum laude” from the
University of Catania, and has an extensive educational background in
both aviation and management.
ICAO on its website explained that, “The Council is a permanent body
of the Organization responsible to the Assembly. It is composed of 36
Member States elected by the Assembly for a three-year term. In the
election, adequate representation is given to States of chief
importance in air transport, States not otherwise included but which
make the largest contribution to the provision of facilities for
international civil air navigation and States not otherwise included
whose designation will ensure that all major geographic areas of the
world are represented on the Council”, ICAO said
