| William A. O'Neil | |
| Order: | 6th Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization |
| Term Start: | January 1, 1990 |
| Term End: | December 31, 2003 |
| Predecessor: | Chandrika Prasad Srivastava |
| Successor: | Efthymios Mitropoulos |
| Alma Mater: | University of Toronto |
William A. O'Neil (born June 6, 1927, died October 29, 2020) was a Canadian civil servant who served as Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization and also served as Chancellor of the World Maritime University.[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] He was the second-longest serving IMO Secretary-General.[1] [2] [3]
O'Neil was born in Ottawa in 1927.[5] In 1949, O'Neil obtained a degree in civil engineering from the University of Toronto.[1]
In his early career, O'Neil worked at the Canadian Department of Transport.[1] From 1975 to 1980, he was Commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard.[1] Between 1980 and 1989 he was employed as Chief Executive Officer of the St. Lawrence Seaway.[1] During this period, he also represented Canada on the IMO Council.[1]
In 1990, O'Neil was elected as the 6th Secretary-General of IMO. He served as Secretary-General for three and a half terms until 31 December 2003.[1] In 1991, he became Chancellor of the World Maritime University and Chairman of the Governing Board of the International Maritime Law Institute.[1]
While Secretary-General, the IMO made several major decisions with a large impact on shipping.[3] He helped to address key safety issues in shipping including the safety of bulk carriers, passenger ships and Roll-on/roll-off ferries.[2] He oversaw the adoption of Annex VI of the MARPOL Convention in 1997 as well as the development of the International Safety Management Code.[2] Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, he was also responsible for the IMO approach that led to the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.[2] [3]
O'Neil died on 29 October 2020 at age 93.[2] [4] In November 2022, the IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim paid tribute to O'Neil at the IMO, along with the release of a video tribute.[6]
O'Neil married Dorothy (nee Muir) in 1950. They had three children: Janice, Kathy & Jeff. He had four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Dorothy passed away in 2007. O'Neil was then married to his second wife.[3] [5]