King Philippe of Belgium today (Oct 3) presented IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol with one of the country's highest honours in a special ceremony at the Royal Palace in Brussels, highlighting Dr Birol's significant work on energy cooperation around the world and notably in Africa.
King Philippe named Dr Birol as a Grand Officer in the Order of Leopold, Belgium's highest civil merit order that is reserved for those who have had a long career of extraordinary service, citing Dr Birol's tireless efforts to support Belgium and the international community across a range of key energy issues. The King made special note of Dr Birol's decades-long focus on energy issues in Africa, especially on efforts to expand access to electricity and clean cooking.
The ceremony was attended by numerous high-level guests, including Belgian Energy Minister Mathieu Bihet; European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen; European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela; Count Étienne Davignon, one of the founders of the IEA and the first Chair of its Governing Board; European Commission Director-General for Energy Ditte Juul Jørgensen; and the Ambassadors of many countries.
Dr Birol expressed his deep thanks to the King for the award and dedicated it to his IEA colleagues, underscoring their strong commitment to best-in-class energy data and analysis.
Before the ceremony, Dr Birol had a bilateral meeting with King Philippe, during which they discussed a range of topics related to energy and geopolitics.
