Fatih Birol is a Turkish economist and energy expert, who has served as the

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the

International Energy Agency The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation, established in 1974, that provides policy recommendations, analysis and data on the entire global energy sector, with a recent focus on curbing car ...

(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 and China and stepping up work on the clean

energy transition The energy transition is the process of downshifting fossil fuels and re-developing whole systems to operate on low carbon energy sources. More generally, an energy transition is a significant structural change in an energy system regarding ...

and international efforts to reach

net zero Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...

emissions. Birol was on the ''Time'' 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2021, has been named by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine among the most influential people on the world's energy scene and recognised by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' in 2017 as Energy Personality of the Year. Birol is the chairman of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...

(Davos) Energy Advisory Board. He is a frequent contributor to print and

electronic media Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical means for the audience to access the content. This is in contrast to static media (mainly print media), which today are most often created digitally, but do not require el ...

and delivers numerous speeches each year at major international summits and conferences.

Early career

Prior to joining the IEA as a junior analyst in 1995, Birol worked at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (

OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headqua ...

) in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. 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 The annual ''World Energy Outlook'' is the International Energy Agency's flagship publication, widely recognised as the most authoritative source for global energy projections and analysis. It represents the leading source for medium to long-term ...

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 Power engineering, also called power systems engineering, is a subfield of electrical engineering that deals with the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric power, and the electrical apparatus connected to such sy ...

from the

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical universit ...

. He received his MSc and

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

energy economics Energy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Considering the cost of energy services and associated value gives economic meaning to the efficiency at which energ ...

from the

Technical University of Vienna TU Wien (TUW; german: Technische Universität Wien; still known in English as the Vienna University of Technology from 1975–2014) is one of the major universities in Vienna, Austria. The university finds high international and domestic recogn ...

. In 2013, Birol was awarded a Doctorate of Science honoris causa by Imperial College London. He was made an honorary life member of the football club

Galatasaray S.K. Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club'') is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Most notable for its association football department, the club also consists of various other de ...

in 2013.

Other activities

* Africa Europe Foundation (AEF), member of the High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations (since 2020)High-Level Group of Personalities on Africa-Europe Relations
Africa Europe Foundation (AEF).

Honours and medals

References

External links

Fatih Birol's biography

International Energy Agency

World Energy Outlook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birol, Fatih 1958 births Chevaliers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Energy economists Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany International Energy Agency officials Istanbul Technical University alumni Knights First Class of the Order of the Polar Star Living people Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic People from Ankara Recipients of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Turkish economists TU Wien alumni