Rome 2007

World Energy Congress

Hisham Khatib is winner of 2007 Global Energy Award

Hisham Khatib of Jordan has been named winner of the World Energy Council's  2007 Global Energy Award. The award, which is the highest honour bestowed by the World Energy Council (WEC), was presented to Dr. Khatib by WEC Chair André Caillé on 15 November during the Closing Ceremony of the 20th World Energy Congress in Rome, Italy.

Dr. Khatib's impressive career in the energy sector spans nearly 50 years. Currently Chairman of the Jordan Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Khatib has also served as Minister of Planning, Minister of Water and Irrigation and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources for the government of Jordan, as Director General of the Jordan Electricity Authority and as a senior energy expert for the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development in Kuwait. In addition, he has served as consultant to the United Nations and various bodies within the UN as well as to the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the World Bank, the Arab Fund, the Islamic Development Bank and other regional and international development agencies.

In addition to being a frequent lecturer on energy and the environment, Dr. Khatib has authored three books: "Economics of Reliability in Electrical Power Systems" (1978) and "Financial and Economic Evaluation of Projects" (1997, 2003) and a history book, "Palestine and Egypt under the Ottomans" (2003). Dr. Khatib was also a co-author of the UNDP/UNDESA/WEC World Energy Assessment, "Energy and the Challenge of Sustainability" (2000).

He is a member of the World Federation of Scientists select group and served on the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel Roster of Experts as well as on the GEF Senior Advisory Panel. Dr. Khatib is also an Advisory Editor of the Energy Policy Journal (UK) and the Natural Resources Forum (UN). He is Vice Chairman of UN-CSTD, Vice Chair of Jordan's Royal Society for Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and is involved with various regional and international environmental and learned societies. From 2003-2006, he headed the Management Committee of the Arab Thought Forum. In 1998, he was awarded the prestigious "Medal of Achievement" of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (presently Institution of Engineering and Technology) in the UK.

Dr. Khatib has been an active member of the World Energy Council for over 30 years, serving as Vice Chair from 1989 to 1992 and being elected an Honorary Vice Chair of WEC in 1992. He is a founding member of the WEC Cleaner Fossil Fuels Systems Committee and has also served on the Communications and Outreach Committee and the Performance of Generating Plant Committee and was also Chair of WEC's International Committee for Developing Countries.

Dr. Khatib received a B.Sc. in engineering from Cairo University, an M.Sc. from the University of Birmingham (UK) and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of London, where he also received a B.Sc. in economics. He is one of the few engineers in the world to be simultaneously admitted to the Fellowship of both the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET-UK) and the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE-USA). Recently, Dr. Khatib was made a Life Fellow of the IEEE.

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.

Headquartered in London, the 84-year-old World Energy Council is the leading global multi-energy organisation, with Member Committees in nearly 100 countries around the world. Its mission is to promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all people.