Fatih Birol | |
---|---|
Executive director of the International Energy Agency | |
Assumed office 1 September 2015 | |
Deputy | Mary Burce Warlick |
Preceded by | Maria van der Hoeven |
Personal details | |
Alma mater |
Istanbul Technical University Vienna University of Technology |
Fatih Birol is a Turkish economist and energy expert, who has served as the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) since 1 September 2015. During his time in charge of the IEA, he has taken a series of steps to modernise the Paris-based international organisation, including strengthening ties with emerging economies like India [1] and China and stepping up work on the clean energy transition and international efforts to reach net zero emissions. [2]
Birol was on the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2021, [3] has been named by Forbes magazine among the most influential people on the world's energy scene [4] and recognised by the Financial Times in 2017 as Energy Personality of the Year. [5] Birol is the chairman of the World Economic Forum (Davos) Energy Advisory Board. He is a frequent contributor to print and electronic media and delivers numerous speeches each year at major international summits and conferences. [6]
Prior to joining the IEA as a junior analyst in 1995, Birol worked at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC) in Vienna. Over the years at the IEA, Birol worked his way up to the job of Chief Economist, a role in which he was in charge of the IEA's closely watched World Energy Outlook report, before he became executive director in 2015.
A Turkish citizen, Birol was born in Ankara in 1958. He earned a BSc degree in power engineering from the Istanbul Technical University. He received his MSc and PhD in energy economics from the Technical University of Vienna. In 2013, Birol was awarded a Doctorate of Science honoris causa by Imperial College London. In 2023, he was elected as a foreign member of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Engineering. [7] He was made an honorary life member of the football club Galatasaray S.K. in 2013.
Ribbon bar | Award or decoration | Country | Date | Place | Note | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Medal for Outstanding Service of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey | Turkey | 1 October 2005 | Ankara | [9] | ||
Ordre des Palmes Académiques | France | 1 October 2006 | Paris | [10] | ||
Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria | Austria | 1 March 2007 | Vienna | [10] | ||
First Class Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany | Germany | 19 November 2009 | Berlin | [10] | ||
Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic | Italy | 14 June 2012 | Paris | [10] | ||
First Class Order of the Polar Star | Sweden | 11 December 2013 | Stockholm | [10] [11] | ||
First Class Order of the Rising Sun | Japan | 30 January 2014 | Paris | [10] [12] | ||
Melchett Medal | United Kingdom | 2017 | [13] | |||
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour | France | 6 December 2023 | Paris | highest honor | [10] [14] [15] |