Fatih Birol

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]

Fatih Birol
Shoulders and face of a man wearing a suit
Birol in 2019
Executive director of the International Energy Agency
Assumed office
1 September 2015
DeputyMary Burce Warlick
Preceded byMaria van der Hoeven
Personal details
Alma materIstanbul Technical University
Vienna University of Technology

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]

Early career

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.

Other activities
  • Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)[8]

Honours and medals
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 1 January 2022 Paris [10][14]

References
  1. "India inks MoU with International Energy Agency for global energy security, sustainability". The Hindu. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  2. "Paris climate agreement at risk of failure, says energy chief". The Telegraph. 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.(Subscription required.)
  3. "Fatih Birol: The 100 Most Influential People of 2021". Time. 15 September 2021.
  4. "T. Boone Pickens Picks The World's Seven Most Powerful In Energy". Forbes. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  5. "Energy personality of the year: Fatih Birol, IEA". The Sunday Times. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.(Subscription required.)
  6. "Climate commitments are 'not enough', says Birol". World Nuclear News. 22 April 2021.
  7. "In rare honour, Executive Director elected as Foreign Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering". International Energy Agency. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  8. High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations Africa Europe Foundation (AEF).
  9. "Dışişleri Bakanlığı Üstün Hizmet Ödülü ile Devlet Nişan ve Madalyaları" (in Turkish). Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  10. "Awards of Fatih Birol". World Energy Outlook. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  11. "Fatih Birol'a İsveç'ten Kraliyet Nişanı (Turkish)". NTV. 11 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  12. "IEA Chief Economist receives Japanese Emperor's Order of the Rising Sun". International Energy Agency. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  13. "Melchett and Cadman Awards and Lectures - Past Melchett Award winners". Energy Institute. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  14. "Journal officiel de la République française" (PDF). France. 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
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