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Nawal El Moutawakel and Gerardo Werthein (Photo by IOC/Greg Martin)

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Nawal El Moutawakel and Gerardo Werthein elected new IOC Vice-Presidents at Paris Session

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today elected two new Vice-Presidents and two Executive Board (EB) members, as well as eight new IOC Members – four women and four men – during its 142nd IOC Session meeting in Paris, France.

Fifteen IOC Members within the age limit were also re-elected, the term of office of one Member was extended and two Honorary Members were elected.

Changes to the IOC Executive Board

During today’s proceedings, the Session elected Ms Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR) and Dr Gerardo Werthein (ARG) as IOC Vice-Presidents, whose terms of office will start on 10 August after the conclusion of the 142nd IOC Session, when the terms of Mr John Coates (AUS) and Mr Ser Miang Ng (SGP) will come to an end.

Mrs Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski (PHI) was also re-elected for a second term to the IOC Executive Board, and Mrs Li Lingwei (CHN) was elected as an EB member. The term for the EB members is four years.

Election of eight new IOC Members including three Olympians

Eight new IOC Members – four women and four men – were elected and took the oath during the Session meetings today. The terms of office for six of the Members will begin immediately, while one will start at the end of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and one on 1 January 2025.

Reaffirming the IOC’s commitment to lead by example and close the gender gap across its leadership positions, women now account for 42.3 per cent of IOC Members, with 47 women out of a total of 111 Members. With the election of three female Olympians, the IOC membership now consists of 43 Olympians (23 women and 20 men).

Three women and one man were elected as Independent Individuals:

  • Mrs Aya Medany (year of birth: 1988, Egypt)
  • Mrs Sarah Walker (year of birth: 1988, New Zealand). Mrs Walker’s IOC membership will remain linked to her athlete status until the end of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, at which time she will begin her term as an independent member.
  • Mrs Paula Belen Pareto* (year of birth: 1986, Argentina)
  • Sir Hugh Robertson* (year of birth: 1962, Great Britain)

* Election made possible in accordance with Rule 16.1.1. of the Olympic Charter. This rule allows for up to seven IOC Members to be elected in special cases without a nationality or National Olympic Committee (NOC) requirement.

Three members were elected linked to their function within an NOC:

  • Mrs Damaris Young, President of the Comité Olímpico de Panamá (year of birth: 1984, Panama)
  • Mr Gene Sykes, President of the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (year of birth: 1958, United States of America)
  • Mr Ian Chesterman, President of the Australian Olympic Committee (year of birth: 1959, Australia). Mr Chesterman’s IOC membership starts on 1 January 2025.

One member was elected linked to his function within an International Federation (IF):

  • Mr Johan Eliasch; President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (year of birth: 1962, Great Britain)

Member re-election, term extension and Honorary Members

Fifteen IOC Members arriving at the end of their eight-year term, following their election or re-election in 2016, were re-elected by the IOC Session for another eight years, with the age limit being taken into consideration for the end of the terms (80 for those elected before December 1999 and 70 for those elected after that date):

  • Mr Thomas Bach (Germany, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1953, elected in 1991)
  • Mr Sergii Bubka (Ukraine, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1963, elected in 2008)
  • Mr Richard Carrión (Puerto Rico, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1952, elected in 1990)
  • Ms Anita L. DeFrantz (United States of America, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1952, elected in 1986)
  • Mr Guy Drut (France, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 1996)
  • Mr Robin Mitchell (Fiji, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1946, elected in 1994)
  • Mr Denis Oswald (Switzerland, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1947, elected in 1991)
  • HRH The Princess Royal (Great Britain, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 1988)
  • Mrs Nita Ambani (India, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1962, elected in 2016)
  • Ms Sari Essayah (Finland, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1967, elected in 2016)
  • Mr Ivo Ferriani (Italy, membership linked to his function as President of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF), year of birth: 1960, elected in 2016)
  • Mrs Auvita Rapilla (Papua New Guinea, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1971, elected in 2016)
  • Mr Anant Singh (South Africa, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1956, elected in 2016)
  • Ms Tricia Smith (Canada, membership linked to her function as President of the Canadian Olympic Committee, year of birth: 1957, elected in 2016)
  • Mr Karl Stoss (Austria, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1956, elected in 2016)

The Session also extended for four years the term of office of Mr Mustapha Berraf (Algeria, membership linked to his function as President of the Association of the National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), year of birth: 1954, elected in 2019, whose age limit, 70, will be reached at the end of 2024), starting from 1 January 2025 and running until the end of 2028. This is due to his position as President of ANOCA and his pioneering role in promoting the Olympic Movement and its values through the National Olympic Committees in Africa.

The Session also elected as Honorary Members, as of 1 January 2025, Mr John Coates (Australia, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 2001) and Mr Uğur Erdener (Türkiye, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 2008), whose terms of office are coming to an end on 31 December.

Re-election of a member of the IOC Ethics Commission

Finally, pursuant to Rule 22.2 of the Olympic Charter and Article 2 of the IOC Ethics Commission’s statutes, the Session re-elected Mrs Amina Mohamed (year of birth: 1961, Kenya) to the IOC Ethics Commission for a four-year term in her capacity as an independent member. Mrs Mohamed was first elected to the IOC Ethics Commission in 2020.

Credit: International Olympic Committee 

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