Haitham al-Ghais
هيثم الغيص
Al-Ghais in 2023
29th Secretary General of OPEC
Assumed office
5 July 2022
Preceded byMohammed Barkindo
Personal details
BornOctober 1969 (age 54)
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Alma materUniversity of San Francisco

Haitham al-Ghais (Arabic: هيثم الغيص; born October 1969) is a Kuwaiti oil executive who currently serves as the Secretary General of OPEC.[1]

From 1991 to 1993, Al-Ghais operated in the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1993, he joined the International Marketing Sector of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), later serving as its Crude Oil Marketing Representative and leading the company's regional offices in China and the United Kingdom. In 2021, Al-Ghais was appointed as KPC's Deputy Managing Director for International Marketing.[2]

In 2017, Al-Ghais chaired OPEC's first Joint Technical Committee (JTC), continuing to participate in JTC and Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meetings. In January 2022, he was unanimously appointed to a three-year term as OPEC Secretary-General.[3][4] Following the 5 July 2022 death of his predecessor, Nigerian politician Mohammed Barkindo, Al-Ghais served as the organization's interim leader ahead of his planned August 2022 start date.[1]

During his term, Al-Ghais has urged member nations to focus international climate negotiations on reducing carbon emissions, rather than prohibiting the extraction and sale of fossil fuels.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Batrawy, Aya (1 August 2022). "Kuwait Oil Veteran Takes Over as Secretary General of OPEC". Associated Press. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  2. ^ "HE Mr. Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC" (PDF). OPEC. August 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  3. ^ "La OPEP designa al kuwaití Haitham Al Ghais como secretario general". france24.com. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  4. ^ "El kuwaití Haitham Al-Ghais será el nuevo secretario general de la OPEP". elperiodicodelaenergia.com. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  5. ^ Friedman, Lisa (8 December 2023). "OPEC Leader Tells Members to Block Any Climate Summit Deal to Curb Fossil Fuels". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
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