Sydney 2004

Global Energy Award

German energy leader, coal and gas expert, lawyer and energy association executive Dr. Gerhard Ott has been named winner of the World Energy Council's 2004 Global Energy Award. The award was presented to Dr. Ott by World Energy Council (WEC) Chair Antonio del Rosario on 9 September, during the 19th World Energy Congress in Sydney, Australia. Gerhard Ott's career has spanned several decades. After graduation from Munich Law School, Dr. Ott became a member of the Institute for Foreign and International Patent, Copyright and Trademark Law and completed his academic education with post-graduate studies at the University of Michigan Law School in the US. He was for many years General Manager of the West German National Coal Association and also served as Managing Director of the Gas Union GmbH in Frankfurt.

A long-time member of the World Energy Council, Dr. Ott came to prominence in the organisation at the time of the 11th World Energy Congress, which took place in 1980 and was held in Munich. As Executive Director of the Congress Organising Committee, Dr. Ott's leadership, energy, vision and dedication helped make the Congress an outstanding success, bringing in over 5,000 participants.

From 1983-1986, Dr. Ott served as Chairman of WEC's Administrative Committee. In 1988, he was elected Chairman of WEC's Executive Assembly, a role he fulfilled for six years. Under his leadership, WEC prospered and grew, with the number of Member Committees rising from just over 80 when he was elected Chairman in 1988 to nearly 100 in 1995. In a follow-up to WEC's 1978 publication, World Energy - Looking Ahead to 2020, Dr. Ott convened a WEC Commission comprised of energy leaders from around the world to consider pressing issues of energy, environment and the economy. This work resulted in one of WEC's best-known and distinguished publications, Energy for Tomorrow's World (1993).

He also launched the initial stage of WEC's work at the regional level, focussing on Africa and Central and Eastern Europe; strengthened WEC management in London; and, with the help of several other energy leaders, established the WEC Foundation. During his time as Chair of WEC's Executive Assembly, and in particular in the course of preparing WEC's Congresses (1992 in Madrid and 1995 in Tokyo), Dr. Ott's wife Marianne was always by his side, serving as hostess, diplomat, sounding board and advisor.

In 1996, Dr. Ott was named President of the German Member Committee of WEC, a position he has held for almost ten years, and which he will hand over, after completion of the Sydney Congress, on 1 January 2005. He has participated in many WEC studies and activities -- WEC's first global study of The Benefits and Deficiencies of Energy Sector Liberalisation, published for the Houston Congress in 1998, is just one example of his leadership. He also served as President of the Moscow International Energy Club from 1996 to 2003.

In his work in the international energy sector, which has stretched over many decades, Dr. Ott stresses, "I have always made it a particular point to focus on issues and strategies of a global and long-term nature, as against often too narrow and too short-term politics. I have also committed myself - beginning with the Munich Congress in 1980 - to creating a better understanding of the needs of developing countries in order to build bridges instead of deepening the gap between the so-called First and Third Worlds". Created by the World Energy Council in 1998, the Global Energy Award is presented at each triennial World Energy Congress to an eminent international personality who has contributed substantially to the understanding of the global energy sector, who has supported the World Energy Council in its work and who has made significant contributions to his company or organisation, government, community and country. Nominations for the award are made by WEC Member Committees, and the winner is selected by WEC's Board of Trustees, the Officers Council.

Sydney Speech - Dr Gerhard Ott ( PDF File, 81KB)

Dr. Gerhard Ott (right) is presented with the Award by Mr. Antonio del Rosario (left)