PGE/REWE 2015

Maria van der Hoeven
Executive Director
International Energy Agency


Maria van der Hoeven took over as Executive Director of the IEA on 1 September 2011. Previously, Ms. Van der Hoeven served as Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands from February 2007 to October 2010, during which time she demonstrated leadership on energy policy at the national, regional and global levels. As Executive Director of the IEA, Ms. Van der Hoeven has steered the agency during a period of exceptional change in the global energy economy. The original role of the IEA has been challenged by rapidly shifting supply/demand balances for oil as well as other major fuels, affecting its members’ interests and also those within the wider global energy economy. At the same time, the global economic crisis has put a strain on resources. Ms. Van der Hoeven therefore led a strategic reorganisation of the IEA in 2012, part of an ongoing effort to reposition the agency and equip it to confront contemporary energy challenges. Prior to becoming Minister of Economic Affairs, Ms. Van der Hoeven was Minister of Education, Culture and Science from 2002 to 2007. She was an elected member of the Netherlands House of Representatives of the States-General from 1991 to 2002. Until 1987 she was head of the Adult Commercial Vocational Training Centre in Maastricht, after which she served as head of the Limburg Technology Centre until 1991. A native Dutch speaker, Ms. Van der Hoeven is fluent in English and speaks French and German.

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