Andris Piebalgs is a senior advisor in the firm’s Brussels office. Andris, a non-lawyer, is a former senior government official and diplomat specializing in global energy policy, sustainability, and development.
Andris served as European Commissioner for Energy between 2004 and 2009 where he was instrumental in designing and implementing the “Third Energy Package,” which remains a cornerstone of the EU’s energy policy and market regulation. Andris was subsequently European Commissioner for Development, from 2010 and 2014. As a member of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel of eminent persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, Andris played a key role in formulating the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. These remain the blueprint for international development, promote affordable and clean energy worldwide, and underpin the discipline of Business and Human Rights.
Before joining the Commission, Andris held a number of roles in the Latvian Government, including as Minister of Finance, Deputy Secretary of State for EU affairs, and Minister of Education. He subsequently served as a diplomat in the Latvian Foreign Service where, as Ambassador to the EU, he was instrumental in helping Latvia gain accession to the European Union.
Since leaving the Commission, Andris has continued to be deeply involved in energy regulation in Europe, serving as the Chairman of the Implementation Committee of the International Methane Emissions Observatory, and Chairman of the Board of Appeal of the Agency of the Cooperation of Energy Regulators. Since 2016, Andris has held a Professorship at the Florence School of Regulation of the European University Institute, and was Adviser to the President of Latvia on his country’s Presidency of the Council of the EU. He has published numerous articles on the politics of energy, the energy transition, sustainability and development.
Andris’s practice focuses on the politics of energy and the links between energy transition and sustainable development, as well as providing counsel on the legislative process, particularly when it comes to the European Union. He works closely with members of the firm’s Global Problem Solving practice—a team of lawyers and policy professionals, including more than 120 former diplomats and senior government officials, that brings its significant experience to bear on the types of complex problems that involve both legal processes and governmental institutions.
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