The European Commission has appointed Dominique Ristori as director-general for energy. He is to take over on 1 January from Philip Lowe, a British national who is to retire at the end of the year.

Ristori, a Frenchman who is a career civil servant, has been director-general of the EU’s joint research centre (JRC), the Commission’s in-house scientific advisory service, since December 2010. Ristori was the first non-scientist to be appointed head of the JRC.

He previously held three senior posts in the Commission’s energy department: deputy director-general, leading on nuclear energy (2006-10), director in charge of general affairs and resources (2000-06), and director in charge of European energy policy (1996-99).

Ristori graduated from the Institute of Political Studies, Paris, in 1975 and joined the Commission in 1978.

In 1978-90, he worked in the department for personnel and administration and in 1990-96 as head of division in the department for enterprise policy.

Lowe has been in his current post since February 2010 and was previously director-general of the competition department (2002-10).