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Institution of Electrical Engineers

Logo: Institution of Electrical Engineers, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons³

British professional organisation, 1871–2006

The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and information technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. It began in 1871 as the Society of Telegraph Engineers. In 2006, it merged with the Institution of Incorporated Engineers and the new organisation is Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).² Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1871Founded¹

Websitewww.theiee.org

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The IET - geograph.org.uk - 757175 — Photo: Glyn Baker, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons⁵

The story

The IEE was founded in 1871 as the Society of Telegraph Engineers, changed its name in 1880 to the Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians and changed to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in 1888. It was Incorporated by a Royal Charter in 1921.

In 1988 the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) merged with the Institution of Electronic and Radio Engineers (IERE), originally the British Institution of Radio Engineers (Brit IRE) founded in 1925.

By the mid-2000s, the IEE was the largest professional engineering society in Europe, with a worldwide membership of around 120,000.

Discussions about a merger with the Institution of Incorporated Engineers (IIE) under a new name started in 2004, and following membership voting, the IEE merged with the IIE on 31 March 2006 to form the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

From Wikipedia’s article on Institution of Electrical Engineers, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.⁴