Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Fatih Birol is the Chief Economist and the Director of the office responsible for the economic analysis of energy policy at the Paris-based International Energy Agency. He oversees the annual World Energy Outlook which is the flagship publication of the IEA and is recognised as the most authoritative source for energy analysis and projections. He is responsible for the recently founded IEA Energy Business Council which draws together leaders from the world’s foremost energy corporations to provide a business perspective on a broad range of energy market challenges. He is a frequent contributor to print and electronic media and delivers numerous speeches each year at major international summits and conferences.

Dr. Birol received awards from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2002 and from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2004 in recognition of his contribution to energy policy formulation. He received the annual award of the International Association of Energy Economics for ‘Outstanding Contributions to the Profession’ in 2005. In 2006, Dr. Birol was made a “Chevalier dans l’ordre des Palmes Academique” by the French Government for distinguished services to the field of international energy economics. He received the Golden Honour Medal of the Austrian Republic in 2007 for his contribution to the understanding of global energy issues.
Prior to joining the IEA in 1995, Dr. Birol worked for six years at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna.

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.