Council and general secretary elections
Many Nautilus members find that they enjoy participating in Union work as a lay representative or by attending forums and conferences, and then want to take things further by standing for election to Council.
This section explains more about the Council and the Union's elected general secretary and tells you how you can get involved.
Nautilus Council
The Nautilus International Council is the Union's governing body. It is composed of 32 serving maritime professionals plus the Nautilus general secretary, each elected to serve a four-year term. Of the Council places, 23 of the 32 positions are for members of the UK branch, eight places for members of the Netherlands branch, and one for the Switzerland branch.
Any full member of Nautilus International can stand for election to the Council, as long as they follow the formal nomination process, which involves gaining a set number of signatures from other Union members.
Elections for placements on the Council are held on a rolling basis, which means that half the Council places come up for election every two years. Candidates stand for election to the Council in categories related to their area of work:
- Navigating officers (including shipmasters)
- Engineers (including ETOs/electrical/radio officers)
- Ratings
- Other particular categories (including hotel services and shore-based members)
- Inland navigation
The Council is also the Trustee of the Nautilus Welfare Fund, which is the registered charity administered by Nautilus.
Nomination forms and deadlines for Council elections are published on this website in member resources (log in to My Nautilus), as are candidates' election statements. They also appear in the Nautilus Telegraph and are sent to Union members in the post.
Due to restrictions imposed by UK legislation, Council elections are carried out via a postal vote only. They are overseen by an independent scrutineer.
General secretary
The general secretary is the most senior employee of Nautilus International, and the only one who is elected. The general secretary is the chief executive officer and responsible under the Rules for ensuring the proper administration of the Union.
The general secretary is elected every four years. Nomination forms and deadlines for the election will be made available via this website, published in the Nautilus Telegraph and sent to individual Union members in the post. Due to restrictions imposed by UK legislation, general secretary elections are carried out via a postal vote only. They are overseen by an independent scrutineer.
Previous Council election results
- Nautilus International election results: Council 2019
- Fresh faces on Nautilus Council after election results announced
- Nautilus Council confirms governing body leadership
Related content
Governance structure
Nautilus International’s members are at the heart of the Union’s governance structure. Here’s some information about how it all works.
Democracy
Nautilus International is a member-led, democratic organisation, and we offer members all sort of opportunities to shape the organisation's policies. This is how the Union works and how you can get involved.
Council members
The membership of the Nautilus International Council is designed to reflect the Nautilus membership base, with representatives drawn from the different member nations and from different employment backgrounds within the maritime and inland navigation sectors.
Meet the team
Profiles of the Nautilus International leadership.