Executive Director, International Energy Agency

Biography

Dr. Fatih Birol took office as Executive Director on 1 September 2015, twenty years after first joining the International Energy Agency (IEA). Prior to being elected as Executive Director, Dr. Birol held the positions of Chief Economist and Director of Global Energy Economics, with responsibilities that included directing the flagship World Energy Outlook publication. He is also the founder and chair of the IEA Energy Business Council. Dr. Birol has been named by Forbes Magazine among the most powerful people in terms of influence on the world’s energy scene. He is the Chairman of the World Economic Forum’s (Davos) Energy Advisory Board and serves as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on ‘Sustainable Energy for All’. Dr. Birol is also the recipient of numerous awards from government, industry and academia. Prior to joining the IEA, Dr. Birol worked at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, where his responsibilities related to analysis of oil markets. A Turkish citizen, Dr. Birol was born in Ankara in 1958. He earned a BSc degree in power engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul. He received his MSc and PhD in energy economics from the Technical University of Vienna. In 2013, Dr. Birol was awarded a Doctorate of Science honoris causa by Imperial College London.