Hamel takes the Helm as GECF Secretary General
Eng. Mohamed Hamel from the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria has assumed office as the fourth Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). Photo courtesy GECF
Mohamed Hamel from the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria has assumed office as the fourth Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), the global platform of leading gas exporting countries.
He was appointed to the helm of the 18-country energy organization at the 23rd GECF Ministerial Meeting, presided by the Plurinational State of Bolivia in November 2021, for a period of two years commencing January 1, 2022.
An engineer by profession, Hamel is a familiar face in the energy space and brings a long and distinguished career to advance the GECF at a time when natural gas is emerging as a frontrunner to shape a stable, secure, and clean global energy landscape for the future.
“Natural gas will continue to play a crucial role in the future in alleviating energy poverty, fuelling economic growth, and expanding prosperity, whilst at the same time contributing to the protection of the environment, both at the local level in terms of air quality improvement and at the global level in terms of climate change mitigation,” Hamel said.
Hamel began his career at Algeria’s state-owned Sonatrach, where he rose through the ranks to eventually become Vice President of Strategy and Planning, a role he reprised at the GECF in shaping the organisation’s Long-Term Strategy (2017-2022). He graduated from two prestigious engineering schools in France: the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris.
