Efthymios Mitropoulos was born on 30 May 1939 in Piraeus, Greece. From 1957 to 1959 he studied at the Aspropyrgos Merchant Marine Academy in Athens and was a distinguished graduate. After his apprenticeship on board merchant ships from 1959 to 1962, Mitropoulos studied at the Hellenic Coast Guard Academy from 1962 to 1964 and was a distinguished graduate, too.

After graduation he practiced as a Coast Guard Officer in Corfu then in Piraeus, retiring as a Rear Admiral. In 1965 he won a scholarship to study shipping economics in Italy (Rome, Venice and Genoa) and in 1970 he was selected to study marine technology (fire protection and life-saving appliances) in the United Kingdom (Lloyd’s Register of Shipping). He was the harbor master of Corfu from 1977 to 1979.

He began his career at the International Maritime Organization in January 1979. He held positions such as Implementation Officer of the Maritime Safety Division (1979), Head of the Navigation Section (1985), Senior Deputy Director for Navigation and Related Matters (1989), Director of the Maritime Safety Division (1992), Secretary of the Maritime Safety Committee (1992), Assistant Secretary-General (2000), and as Secretary-General beginning 2004. His second term began in 2008 and was completed in December 2011. He also acted as Chancellor of the World Maritime University in Sweden (2004).

He is the author of several books on shipping economics and policy, categories/types of merchant vessels, safety of navigation and other shipping-related matters. His book on “Tankers: Evolution and technical issues” won first prize at a pan-hellenic competition to mark the Year of Shipping, 1969.