Richard H. Jones named next IEA Deputy Executive Director

Richard H. Jones, a career diplomat of the US Senior Foreign Service currently serving as US Ambassador to Israel, has been designated for the post of the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Ambassador Jones will take up his full duties on 1 October 2008. He will succeed Ambassador William Ramsay, who was also a US career diplomat and who has served as Deputy Executive Director since 1 July 1999.

“We are delighted to welcome Ambassador Jones to the IEA,” said IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka in announcing the appointment. “His extensive international experience and expertise will be a great asset for the Agency and its member countries.”

Ambassador Jones has over 30 years of diplomatic experience on issues ranging from Middle East politics to trade negotiation and energy security. During his impressive career in the US Department of State, Ambassador Jones was appointed ambassador four times, to Israel, Kazakhstan, Kuwait and Lebanon. He also acted as US Secretary of State Rice’s Senior Advisor and Co-ordinator for Iraq Policy (February-August 2005).

In the energy field, Ambassador Jones has a wide range of policy experience. As Ambassador in Kuwait, he led talks with the Minister of Petroleum on production-sharing proposals. In Kazakhstan, he was the key liaison with the Presidency on the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline and other energy issues. In an earlier diplomatic posting in Riyadh, he analysed and reported on Saudi oil policy, forecasting changes that resulted in the collapse of world oil prices in 1986, and reported on the development of the Saudi petrochemical industries. Ambassador Jones also is well-versed in the work of international organisations. Early in his diplomatic career, he also served as Economic Policy Advisor at the US Mission to the OECD.

“Ambassador Jones brings excellent qualifications to his new position,” said Mr. Tanaka. “In addition to managing multinational organisations successfully, he has also overseen multimillion-dollar operational budgets.”

Born in 1950 near Shreveport, Louisiana, Ambassador Jones has a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics with distinction from Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, and an MS and PhD in Business/Statistics from the University of Wisconsin. In addition to his native English, he is fluent in Arabic, French, Russian and German. He and his wife, Joan, have four children.