The Future of Aviation: A Conversation with the Secretary General Elect on his Vision for ICAO
International civil aviation is scrambling to return to the skies safely, profitably, and sustainably.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is the UN specialized institution responsible for coordinating much of this process. McGill University is delighted to host an interactive webinar with special guest, Juan Carlos Salazar, LLB, LLM (McGill), MPA (Harvard), the Secretary General elect of ICAO. During the event, Mr. Salazar will discuss his vision of ICAO’s role in navigating civil aviation to a new normal into the future and take questions from audience participants.
About Juan Carlos Salazar, LLB, LLM, MPA
Mr. Salazar joined the IASL’s LLM in Air and Space Law in 1998. Indeed, due to his sociable nature and abilities as an effective communicator and leader, his classmates elected him to serve as the class president. Following his graduation, he remained an active alumnus and ardent supporter of the Institute, and went on to establish the Latin American chapter of the IASL Alumni Association. Throughout the years, he has organised and helped coordinate a number of IASL conferences and alumni events in Bogota, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.
Mr Salazar’s long and extensive career in international civil aviation spans over 26 years, during which he fulfilled various senior roles in multilateral transport negotiations, aviation management, and air transport policy, in Latin America and the Middle East. A regular attendee and speaker at the annual McGill Aviation Liability, Insurance and Finance Conferences, Mr. Salazar has worked tirelessly to promote the development of air law not only in his home country, Colombia, but also in Latin America as a whole through the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC), where he served as President. Currently the Director General of the Colombia Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Salazar previously served as a Senior Advisor to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Civil Aviation Authority. In addition to his impressive professional portfolio with extensive experience working with civil aviation authorities around the world, Mr. Salazar also maintains close ties with academia. He has guest-lectured on air and space law and air carrier liability at the IASL and in Colombia.
Mr. Salazar’s appointment to the role of the ICAO Secretary General is a testament to the value of the world-class education from McGill’s Institute of Air and Space Law. In 1996, ICAO bestowed the Edward Warner Award on the Institute in recognition of its “unparalleled contributions to the development of international air law and to the examination of contemporary aviation issues.” Since ICAO's inception, the organisation has benefitted from dozens of IASL graduates filling many senior positions in the Secretariat, on the Council and in national delegations. However, Mr. Juan Carlos Salazar is the first IASL graduate to become Secretary General.