Dr. Fatih Birol has served as Executive Director of the International Energy Agency since 2015. After taking office, Dr. Birol led the IEA in its first comprehensive modernisation programme since its creation in 1974. These efforts focused on “opening the doors” of the IEA to major emerging economies; making the IEA the global hub for clean energy transitions; and broadening the IEA’s energy security mandate beyond oil to also cover electricity, natural gas, renewables and the critical minerals needed in many of today’s clean energy technologies.
Dr. Birol has been named in the TIME100, TIME’s annual list of the world’s most influential people. He is the recipient of numerous state decorations, including the French Legion of Honour, the Japanese Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun, the Order of the Polar Star from the King of Sweden and the highest Presidential decorations from Austria, Germany and Italy.