International Energy Agency has appointed Kenneth J. Fairfax, a career diplomat in the US State Department currently serving as US ambassador to Kazakhstan, as deputy executive director.
Fairfax will take up his full duties at the end of September.
He will succeed Richard H. Jones, another former US career diplomat who has served as deputy executive director since October 2008.
In a career that spanned over 25 years at the US Department of State, Fairfax has held economic, management, and consular positions in Iraq, Vietnam, Poland, Ukraine, Canada, the Russian Federation, Korea, and Oman.
He also served as director of nuclear materials security at the US National Security Council, reporting to the US president on interagency co-ordination and implementation of policies to reduce the risk of illegal trafficking of nuclear materials and equipment.
His experience in the energy field includes promoting US business in the hydrocarbon sector in Kazakhstan, supporting Iraqi leaders in efforts to increase oil production and exports by over 100 percent, working on the modernization of the energy sector in Ukraine and acting as science, technology and environment officer at the US Embassy in Moscow.