IHO Assembly 
»Hydrographers as surveyors and 
describes of all physics of the seas« 
The inaugural speech by MATHIAS JONAS* 
* Mathias Jonas held his 
inaugural speech at 
1130 p.m. on April 28th 
in Monaco 
Mathias Jonas, the new 
Secretary-General of the IHO 
»Distinguished delegates, distinguished 
observers, dear colleagues and - I dare say - 
fellows and friends. 
Well, I have often tried to Imagine what this mo 
ment would be like, how It would feel. Now that the 
moment has actually come, I am just overwhelmed. 
Overwhelmed by your support, overwhelmed by 
the level of trust you have placed In me. 
As you know, I have shared a rather long his 
tory with this organisation. I have served In several 
functions at the IHO In the course of two decades, 
always trying to give my best for the task at hand. 
Your endorsement as the first Secretary-General 
elect doubtless marks the peak of this career, but 
my attitude has always been to repay your trust to 
the best of my ability, and that attitude Is not go 
ing to change In the future. 
Actually, the probability that I would ever reach 
such a level of responsibility was rather low, to say 
the least. I grew up In a divided country. Living In 
the fenced-ln part of Germany, I had a strong mo 
tivation to become a professional seafarer because 
this was one of the few options available to me If I 
wanted to explore the world beyond the wall. 
But then the unexpected happened, the political 
leaders of the eighties at one point decided against 
confrontation and In favour of cooperation. It was 
the revival of Intergovernmental cooperation that 
opened up a window of opportunity at the time 
and made It possible to tear down the walls, and 
which ultimately has given me the chance to stand 
here today on this special occasion. 
»The desire to pursue Intergovernmental co 
operation In hydrography« - this phrase In the 
preamble to our renewed Convention describes 
exactly my perception of the role of Secretary- 
General as the responsible enabler. But being re 
sponsible does not mean to act alone. 
I appreciate your designation of Abri Kampfer 
from South Africa and Mustafa Iptes from Turkey 
as the new directors and I am happy about your 
decision. Both colleagues are well known to me, 
and I am looking forward with confidence and 
optimism to our future close collaboration. I have 
good reasons for being optimistic because I know 
from experience that the Secretariat's staff Is highly 
professional on all levels of guallficatlon. I am sure 
that we will form an excellent team that will be ca 
pable of meeting all challenges ahead. 
There Is an old Latin saying which you all know, 
namely: »Times change, and we are changing with 
them.« Based on this philosophy, my concept for 
the IHO Is to adopt a programme of continuity and 
evolution. 
The IHO can be proud of Its traditions and 
achievements. The hundredth anniversary of Its 
foundation will be celebrated during my tenure, 
and this event will be a good occasion for us to 
look back and remember. 
We will hear about brave surveyors, capable car 
tographers, and ambitious thought leaders. In the 
preceding generation, the latter were pathfinders 
In the early days of navigational chart digitisation 
and the rearrangement of our constitution. It Is on 
the basis of this legacy that we will try to answer 
the guestlons of today and tomorrow. Another cy 
cle of digitisation of all activities related to the sea 
Is about to happen, and hydrographic offices will 
have to cope with this. 
International cooperation within our commu 
nity and cross-sectoral collaboration will be cru 
cial and, In order to cope with the challenge, we 
will have to join forces and move In one direction. 
There are many potential partners out there who 
may act In union with us In the world governance 
of the oceans: politics, administrations, Industry, 
scientists and - last but not least - public opin 
ion. Working with them under the IHO umbrella 
and speaking with one voice can help us climb to 
a new level of perception: hydrographers as the 
surveyors and describes of all physics of the seas. 
In order to achieve this goal, I will be fully com 
mitted to the wide range of tasks ahead of us. My 
motivation Is very high but, In order to be success 
ful, I will need more than your vote today and your 
moral support later on. It will be your dedication, 
your commitment and solidarity that will be cru 
cial to success and which will essentially determine 
the future evolvement of the organisation. 
You have placed me at the steering wheel In 
order to keep the IHO on Its pre-set track, and I 
promise that I will do my duty and always navigate 
the ship In safe waters.« A 
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