20 March 2025 - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today elected Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant (BEL) as a Vice-President and Mr Spyros Capralos (GRE) and Mr Octavian Morariu (ROU) as members of its Executive Board (EB) during the 144th Session meeting in Greece. The Session also re-elected Mrs Emma Terho (FIN) and Mrs Kristin Kloster (NOR) as EB members and elected Mr Tony Estanguet (FRA) as an IOC Member. A number of other membership elections were also held.
Following the recommendations made by the IOC EB in December 2024 and January and February 2025, the Session today:
- elected one new IOC Member;
- re-elected 10 IOC Members within the age limit;
- extended the term of office for one Member;
- approved the change of status for three Members;
- elected two Members as Honorary Members;
- elected two personalities as Honour Members; and
- re-elected two members of the IOC Ethics Commission.
New IOC Vice-President and changes to the IOC Executive Board
During today’s proceedings, the Session elected Baron Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant (BEL) as an IOC Vice-President. His term of office will start after the conclusion of the 144th IOC Session, when the term of Mrs Nicole Hoevertsz (ARU) comes to an end.
The Session elected Mr Spyros Capralos (GRE) and Mr Octavian Morariu (ROU) as members of the IOC EB, replacing Dr Robin E. Mitchell (FIJ) and Mr Denis Oswald (SUI), whose terms have come to an end. The Session also re-elected Mrs Emma Terho (FIN) and Mrs Kristin Kloster (NOR) for a second term on the IOC EB. The term of office for the EB members is four years.
Tony Estanguet elected as IOC Member
The IOC Session elected Mr Tony Estanguet (FRA), three-time Olympic champion in canoeing and President of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee, as an IOC Member.
Mr Estanguet was elected as an Independent Individual. The election was held 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.
IOC Members re-elected with the age limit taken into consideration
Ten IOC Members arriving at the end of their eight-year term, following their election or re-election in 2017, were re-elected for another eight years, with the age limit being taken into consideration for the end of their terms (80 for those elected before December 1999 and 70 for those elected after that date):
- HSH Princess Nora of Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1950, elected in 1984)
- Mr Shamil Tarpishchev (Russian Federation, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1948, elected in 1994)
- Mr Ser Miang Ng (Singapore, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1949, elected in 1998)
- Mr Juan Antonio Samaranch (Spain, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1959, elected in 2001)
- Ms Lydia Nsekera (Burundi, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1967, elected in 2009)
- Ms Baklai Temengil (Palau, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1966, elected in 2017)
- Mrs Kristin Kloster (Norway, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1961, elected in 2017)
- Mrs KhunyingPatama Leeswadtrakul (Thailand, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1965, elected in 2017)
- Mr Jean-Christophe Rolland (France, membership linked to his function as President of World Rowing, year of birth: 1968, elected in 2017)
- Mr Ingmar De Vos (Belgium, membership linked to his function as President of the International Equestrian Federation, year of birth: 1963, elected in 2017)
Extension of a term of office of one IOC Member
The Session also approved the extension for four years of the term of office of one Member:
- Mr Spyros Capralos (Greece, Independent Individual, year of birth: 1955, elected in 2019, whose age limit, 70, will be reached at the end of 2025), starting from 1 January 2026 and running until the end of 2029.
Change of status of three Members
The change of status of three Members was also approved by the IOC Session:
- Mr Mehrez Boussayene (Tunisia, membership linked to his function as President of the Tunisian National Olympic Committee, year of birth: 1959, elected in 2023) from membership related to a function within an NOC or a Continental Association of NOCs to Independent Individual.
- Mr Neven Ilic (Chile, membership linked to his function as the President of Panam Sports, year of birth: 1962, elected in 2017) from membership related to a function within an NOC or a Continental Association of NOCs to Independent Individual.
- Mr Ingmar De Vos (Belgium, membership linked to his function as President of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), year of birth: 1963, elected in 2017) from membership related to a function within an IF to membership related to a function within an Association of IFs.
Two IOC Members to become Honorary Members
The Session also elected as Honorary Members two Members whose terms of office will come to an end, as:
- Starting from 22 April 2025: Mrs Marisol Casado (Spain, membership linked to her function as President of World Triathlon, year of birth: 1956, elected in 2010), when her term as World Triathlon President comes to an end.
- Starting from 1 January 2026: Mr Zaiqing Yu (China, membership linked to his function as Vice-President of the Chinese Olympic Committee, year of birth: 1951, elected in 2000).
Two new IOC Honour Members elected
The Session also elected Mr Ban Ki-moon and Mr Francesco Ricci Bitti as new IOC Honour Members. Honour members are eminent personalities who have rendered particularly outstanding services to the Olympic Movement.
Ban Ki-moon: “Olympic principles are UN principles”
Mr Ban, who served as the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016, has been a steadfast supporter of the Olympic Movement, consistently highlighting the common goals shared by the UN and the IOC. Under his leadership, the IOC gained Permanent Observer status at the UN in 2009, and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2014 to enhance cooperation between the two organisations. Mr Ban's assertion at the time that "Olympic principles are UN principles" has guided this partnership. In 2015, sport was acknowledged as an "important enabler" for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). After his tenure as Secretary-General ended, Mr Ban became the Chair of the IOC Ethics Commission.
He will become an IOC Honour Member on 24 June 2025, when his term as Chair of the IOC Ethics Commission comes to an end.
Francesco Ricci Bitti: Defending sport’s autonomy and unity
From 2013 to 2024, Mr Ricci Bitti led the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), uniting International Federations and promoting their shared interests. Under his leadership, ASOIF has become a trusted and valued partner of the IOC. This collaboration was crucial during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, ensuring safe and successful Olympic Games amid the global pandemic. Mr Ricci Bitti also led ASOIF in taking decisive steps to support the autonomy of sport and oppose the politicisation of sport.
He becomes an IOC Honour Member immediately.
Re-election of two members 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 two members of the IOC Ethics Commission:
- Mrs Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica) was re-elected for a four-year term in her capacity as an IOC Member. Mrs Chinchilla was first elected to the IOC Ethics Commission in 2021.
- Mrs Hanqin Xue (China) was also re-elected for a four-year term in her capacity as an independent member. Mrs Xue was first elected to the IOC Ethics Commission in 2017.
