IEA names new executive director

The governing board of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has confirmed the selection of Maria van der Hoeven, a Dutch citizen, as the next executive director of the agency. She will succeed Nobuo Tanaka of Japan, who will complete his four years of service at the end of August 2011.

Van der Hoeven served as minister of economic affairs of the Netherlands from February 2007 until October 2010. In that role, energy policy was one of her most important responsibilities, and she played an active role in the international arena, including chairing the ministerial level meeting of the IEA governing board in October 2009. From 2002 to 2007, she was minister of education, culture and science. During both of her stints as minister, she presided as deputy chair of the Netherlands Innovation Platform.

“Her leadership will be essential to build upon the agency’s important achievements under Nobuo Tanaka, especially supporting the transition to a clean-energy future,” said US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “Recent weeks have also shown that the IEA’s traditional role of monitoring energy markets, data and trends is no less important today than it was in the past.”