IOC membres

Roles and responsibilities

The IOC is currently composed of 107 members,

including IOC President Thomas Bach, each being

elected by the IOC Session by the majority of the

votes cast.

The IOC Members

The IOC Members, natural persons, are

representatives of the IOC in their respective

countries, and not their country’s delegate within the

IOC. As stated in the Olympic Charter: “Members of

the IOC represent and promote the interests of the

IOC and of the Olympic Movement in their countries

and in the organisations of the Olympic Movement in

which they serve.” (Olympic Charter

, Chapter 2, Rule

16, §1.4).

The IOC Members meet at the general assembly, or

Session, which is the organisation’s supreme organ,

and whose decisions are final. The IOC Members are

elected for a period of eight years, and their mandate

can be renewed.

The age limit fixed is 70 years old, except for members

co-opted between 1966 and 1999, for whom the age

limit is 80. The IOC Session may, on the proposal of

the IOC Executive Board (EB), extend the age limit for

any IOC Member for a period a four-year maximum.

The members meet every year at the IOC Session in

order to take decisions concerning the institution and

the Olympic Games, such as the election of the hosts

of the Games, changes to the Olympic Charter,

election of the IOC President, Vice-Presidents, and

members of the IOC EB, as well as the cooptation of

new members.

The IOC President

The IOC President is elected by the members of the

organisation by a secret ballot. Only one IOC Member

can be elected to the presidency. Their mandate is of

eight years, renewable once for four years. The IOC

President is the IOC’s permanent representative and

presides over all its activities. Since 10 September

2013, the IOC President is Thomas Bach (Germany).

Table A: IOC Presidents

Demetrius Vikelas (GRE)

1894 – 1896

Pierre de Coubertin (FRA)

1896 – 1925

Henri de Baillet-Latour (BEL)

1925 – 1942

J. Sigfrid Edström (SWE)

1946 – 1952

Avery Brundage (USA)

1952 – 1972

Lord Killanin (IRL)

1972 – 1980

Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP)

1980 – 2001

Jacques Rogge (BEL)

2001 – 2013

Thomas Bach (GER)

2013 – 2025

The IOC Vice-Presidents and IOC

Executive Board (EB) Members

All ten members of the IOC EB Members (including

the four Vice-Presidents) are elected by the IOC

Session in a secret ballot by a majority of the votes

cast. The duration of the terms of office of the Vice-

Presidents and of the ten other members of the IOC

EB is four years. A member may serve for a maximum

of two successive terms; he may be elected again as

member of the IOC EB after a minimum period of two

years. The four IOC Vice-Presidents are:

• Ser Miang NG (SGP);

• John D. Coates, AC (AUS);

• Nicole Hoevertsz (ARU);

• Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP).

The IOC EB manages the affairs of the IOC. It:

• conducts the procedure for acceptance and

selection of candidatures for the organisation of

the Olympic Games;

factsheet

IOC

Members

17 October 2023

• enacts, in the form it deems most appropriate, all

regulations necessary to ensure the proper

implementation of the Olympic Charter and the

organisation of the Olympic Games;

• presents a report to the IOC Session on any

proposed change of the Olympic Charter, one of

its Rules or bye-laws;

• is responsible for the management of the IOC’s

finances and prepares an annual report;

• assumes the general overall responsibility for the

administration of the IOC.

IOC Honorary Members and IOC Honour

Members

An IOC Member may be elected as Honorary

President if they have rendered exceptional services

as President of the IOC.

Equally, any member who retires after serving the IOC

for at least 10 years and having rendered exceptional

services to it may be elected as an IOC Honorary

Member. There are currently 43 IOC Honorary

Members.

Finally, the IOC Session can elect IOC Honour

Members from personalities outside the IOC who

have rendered particularly special services to it. There

is currently one IOC Honour Member. The IOC

Honorary Members and the IOC Honour Members do

not have the right to vote at the IOC Session.

Current composition

The members are elected as independent individuals,

active athletes or presidents or persons with an

executive or leadership function within an

International Sports Federation (IF) or National

Olympic Committee (NOC).

Rule 16 of the Olympic Charter defines the

composition of the IOC, including member eligibility

and numbers. For the representatives of IFs and

NOCs, there can be no more than 15 members for

each of these families.

The IOC Members elected as active athletes are also

members of the Athletes’ Commission. There cannot

be more than 15 of these members. The majority of the

members of this Commission are elected by the

athletes taking part in the Olympic Games.

A sporting past

Forty-one current IOC Members have competed at

the Olympic Games in twenty-one disciplines, and

thirty-three of them have won medals.

IOC President Thomas Bach competed in one edition

of the Games in fencing and won a gold medal (foil

team in Montreal in 1976).

Election criteria for members -

cooptation

The IOC Nominations Commission, comprising of at

least one representative of the IOC Ethics

Commission and one representative of the IOC

Athletes’ Commission, examines each candidature

file and forwards them in the form of a report to the

IOC EB, the only competent organ to propose a

candidate to the IOC Session.

The IOC Session is the only competent organ to elect

an IOC Member. The election is held by secret ballot,

and the decisions are taken according to the majority

of the votes cast. This type of appointment of

members by members is known as co-optation.

Voting methods

So that a vote can take place, the quorum is set at half

the total number of IOC Members, plus one. Each IOC

Member can cast one vote in a vote during the IOC

Session. Except in the event of a modification to the

fundamental principles of Olympism or the Olympic

Charter, the decisions are taken by the majority of

votes cast.

Election of new IOC Members at the

last IOC Sessions

During the 141

IOC Session held in Mumbai in 2023,

eight new IOC members were elected.

• Yael Arad (Israel) as Independent Individual;

• Balázs Fürjes (Hungary) as Independent Individual;

• Cecilia Roxana Tait Villacorta (Peru) as

Independent Individual;

• Michelle Yeoh (Malaysia) as Independent

Individual;

• Michael Mronz (Germany) as Independent

Individual;

• Petra Sörling (Sweden) linked to his function

within an IF.

• Jae-youl Kim (Republic of Korea) linked to his

function within an IF.

• Mehrez Boussayene (Tunisia) linked to his

function within an NOC;

During the 139

IOC Session held in Beijing in 2022,

five new members were elected.

• Yiech Pur Biel (who competed as a member of the

IOC Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016) as

Independent Individuals;

• Danka Barteková (Slovakia) as Independent

Individuals;

• David Lappartient (France) linked to his function

within an IF;

• Martin Fourcade (France) as an active athletes’

representative;

• Frida Hansdotter (Sweden) as an active athletes’

representative.

During the 138

IOC Session in 2021, five new

members were elected:

• Pau Gasol (Spain) as an active athletes’

representative;

• Maja Włoszczowska (Poland) as an active

athletes’ representatives;

• Federica Pellegrini (Italy) active athletes’

representatives as an active athletes’

representative;

• Yuki Ota (Japan) as an active athletes’

representative;

• Humphrey Kayange (Kenya) as an active athletes’

representative.

During the 136

IOC Session in 2020, five new

members were elected:

• Maria de la Caridad Colón Ruenes (Cuba), as an

individual member;

• Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (Croatia), as an individual

member;

• Reema Bandar Al-Saud (Saudi Arabia), as an

individual member;

• Battushig Batbold (Mongolia), as an individual

member;

• Sebastian Coe (Great Britain), linked to his

function within an IF.

During the 135

IOC Session in 2020, 3 new

members were elected:

• Yasuhiro Yamashita (Japan), linked to his function

within an NOC;

• David Haggerty (USA), linked to his function within

an IF;

• Gianni Infantino (Switzerland), linked to his

function within an IF.

During the 134

IOC Session in 2019, 10 new

members were elected:

• Odette Assembe Engoulou (Cameroon), as an

individual member;

• Filomena Fortes (Cape Verde), as an individual

member;

• Matlohang Moiloa-Ramoqopo (Lesotho), as an

individual member;

• Tidjane Thiam (Côte d’Ivoire), as an individual

member;

• Laura Chinchilla (Costa Rica), as an individual

member;

• Erick Thohir (Indonesia), as an individual member;

• Spyros Capralos (Greece), as an individual

member;

• Mustapha Berraf (Algeria), linked to his function in

a continental association of NOCs;

• Narinder Dhruv Batra (India), linked to his function

within an NOC;

• Kee Heung Lee (Republic of Korea), linked to his

function within an NOC.

During the 133

IOC Session in 2018, 9 new members

were elected:

• Giovanni Malagò (Italy), as an individual member;

• Felicite Rwemarika (Rwanda), as an individual

member;

• Camilo Pérez López Moreira (Paraguay), as an

individual member;

• Daina Gudzineviciute (Lithuania), as an individual

member;

• Samira Asghari (Afghanistan), as an individual

member;

• HRH Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck (Bhutan),

linked to his function within an NOC;

• William Frederick Blick (Uganda), linked to his

function within an NOC;

• Morinari Watanabe (Japan), linked to his function

within an IF;

• Andrew Parsons (Brazil), linked to his function

within an IF.

During the 132

IOC Session in 2018, 1 new member

was elected:

• Jiří Kejval (Czech Republic), as an individual

member.

During the IOC Session Lima in 2017, 8 new

members were elected:

• Baklai Temengil (Palau), as an individual member;

• Kristin Kloster Aasen (Norway), as an individual

member;

• Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul (Thailand), as an

individual member;

• Luis Mejia Oviedo (Dominican Republic), as an

individual member;

• Neven Ivan Ilic Alvarez (Chili), linked to his function

within an NOC;

• Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair (Oman), linked to his

function within an NOC;

• Jean-Christophe Rolland (France), linked to his

function within an IF;

• Ingmar de Vos (Belgium), linked to his function

within an IF.

During the 129

IOC Session in 2016, 8 new

members were elected:

• Nita Ambani (India), as an individual member;

• Sari Essayah (Finland), linked to her function within

an NOC;

• Ivo Ferriani (Italy), linked to his function within an

IF;

• Luis Moreno (Colombia), as an individual member;

• Auvita Rapilla (Papua New Guinea), linked to her

function within an NOC;

• Anant Singh (South Africa), as an individual

member;

• Tricia Smith (Canada), linked to her function within

an NOC;

• Karl Stoss (Austria), as an individual member.

During the 128

IOC Session in 2015, two new

members were elected:

• Mamadou Diagna Ndiaye (Senegal), linked to his

function within an NOC;

• Nenad Lalovic (Serbia), linked to his function

within an IF.

During the 126

IOC Session in 2014, 1 new member

was elected:

• Poul-Erik Høyer (Denmark), linked to his function

within an IF.

During the 125

IOC Session in 2013, 9 new members

were elected:

• Octavian Morariu (Romania), as an individual

member;

• Bernard Rajzman (Brazil), as an individual member;

• Mikaela Maria Antonia Cojuangco-Jaworski

(Philippines), as an individual member;

• Paul Kibii Tergat (Kenya), as an individual member;

• Dagmawit Girmay Berhane (Ethiopia), as an

individual member;

• Camiel Eurlings (Netherlands), as an individual

member;

• Alexander Zhukov (Russia), linked to his function

within an NOC;

• Lawrence Probst III (USA), linked to his function

within an NOC;

• Stefan Holm (Sweden), linked to his function as an

active athlete.

During the extraordinary IOC Session in 2013, 4 new

members were elected:

• Danka Bartekova (Russia), as an active athlete;

• James Tomkins (Australia), as an active athlete;

• Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), as an active athlete;

• Tony Estanguet (France), as an active athlete.

During the 124

IOC Session in 2012, 5 new members

were elected:

• Tsunekazu Takeda (Japan), as an individual

member;

• Frank Fredericks (Namibia), as an individual

member;

• Lingwei Li (People’s Republic of China), as an

individual member.

• Aisha Garad Ali (Djibouti), linked to her function

within an NOC;

• Pierre-Olivier Beckers (Belgium), linked to his

function within an NOC.

IOC Executive Board (EB) elections

During the 141

IOC Session, two members were re-

elected: HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein (Jordan) was

re-elected to the Executive Board for a second four-

year term. Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe), who

previously served on the Executive Board from 2018

to 2021 in her capacity as Chair of the IOC Athletes’

Commission, was elected for a four-year term. Mrs

Nawal El-Moutawakel’s (Morocco) term of office on

the Executive Board came to an end. Mrs El-

Moutawakel had served since 1 January 2020, when

she replaced Willi Kaltschmitt Luján who had reached

the age limit on 31 December 2019. Mrs El-

Moutawakel had previously served on the Executive

Board from 2008 to 2012.

During the 139th IOC Session, a new Vice-President

and two members were re-elected to the IOC

Executive Board (EB): Juan Antonio

Samaranch (Spain) was elected as an IOC Vice-

President. Mr Samaranch’s term as Vice-President.

Nenad Lalović (Serbia) and Ivo Ferriani (Italy) were

also re-elected as EB members. The terms for the EB

members is four years.

During the 138

IOC Session in 2021, Robin E.

Mitchell (Fiji) and Denis Oswald (Switzerland) were

re-elected as IOC EB members; and Mrs Kristin

Kloster Aasen (Norway) was newly elected to the

Board.

During the 136

IOC Session in 2020, Mikaela

Cojuangco Jaworski (Philippines) and Gerardo

Werthein (Argentina) were elected as members of the

IOC EB. They replaced Sergey Bubka (Ukraine),

whose eight-year term came to an end, and Ser

Miang Ng (Singapore), whose four-year term came to

an end and who was elected Vice-President.

During the 134

IOC Session in 2019, HRH Prince

Feisal (Jordania) replaced Gunilla Lindberg (Sweden)

on the IOC EB, whose eight-year term on the IOC EB

came to an end. Nawal El Moutawakel (Morocco)

replaced Willi Kaltschmitt Luján (Guatemala), who

reached the age limit at the end of this year.

During the 133

IOC Session in 2018, Ivo Ferriani

(Italy) was elected to the IOC EB as a member “with a

view to representing the interests of the Olympic

Winter International Federations.”.

During the IOC Session Lima in 2017, Anita L.

DeFrantz (USA) was elected IOC Vice-president and

Denis Oswald as a member of the IOC EB.

During the 129

IOC Session in 2016, Juan Antonio

Samaranch (Spain) and Uğur Erdener (Turkey)

replaced Vice-Presidents Nawal El Moutawakel

(Morocco) and Sir Craig Reedie (Great Britain). Five

new and returning members also joined the IOC EB:

Gian Franco Kasper (Switzerland), Angela Ruggiero

(USA), Sergey Bubka (Ukraine), Ser Miang Ng

(Singapore), and Willi Kaltschmitt (Guatemala).

During the 128

IOC Session in 2015, Gunilla

Lindberg (Sweden) was re-elected as a member of

the IOC EB.

During the 127

IOC Session in 2014, Jean-Claude

Killy (France), Raja Randhir Singh (India), HRH Prince

Nawaf Faisal Fahd Abdulaziz (Saudi Arabia), Leo

Wallner (Austria) and Melitón Sánchez Rivas

(Panama) were elected as IOC Honorary Member.

During the 126

IOC Session in 2014, two positions in

the IOC EB were up for vote: Zaiqing Yu (People’s

Republic of China) became IOC Vice-President, a

position that became available following the election

of Thomas Bach (Germany) as IOC President in

September 2013. Ugur Erdener (Turkey) was elected

to the IOC EB with the mandate of Sam Ramsamy

(South Africa) coming to an end.

During the 125

IOC Session in 2013, Anita L.

DeFrantz (USA), succeeded John Coates (Australia),

who was himself elected Vice-President in

replacement of Ser Miang Ng (Singapore), whose

back-to-back four-year terms came to an end.

At the 124

IOC Session in 2012, Nawal El

Moutawakel (Morocco) and Craig Reedie (Great

Britain) were elected as IOC Vice-Presidents. New

members elected to the IOC EB included Juan

Antonio Samaranch Jr. (Spain), Sergey Bubka

(Ukraine) and Willi Kaltschmitt Luján (Guatemala). As

is traditional, four positions on the IOC EB were

closely linked to the representation of the Association

of Summer Olympic International Federations

(ASOIF), the Association of International Winter

Sports Federations (AIOWF), the Association of

National Olympic Committees (ANOC) and the IOC

Athletes’ Commission. The following four IOC

Members were elected or re-elected to the IOC EB:

Ching-Kuo Wu (Chinese Tapei, ASOIF), René Fasel

(Switzerland, re-elected, AIOWF), Patrick Hickey

(Ireland, ANOC), Claudia Bokel (Germany, Chair of the

IOC Athletes’ Commission). Outgoing IOC EB

Members were former Vice-Presidents Zaiqing Yu

(People’s Republic of China) and Mario Pescante

(Italy) as well as Denis Oswald (Switzerland), Mario

Vázquez Raña (Mexico), Frank Fredericks (Namibia)

and Richard Carrión (Puerto Rico).

Athletes’ elections

Created in 1981, the Athletes’ Commission is the link

between the Olympic athletes and the IOC. It also

enables the athletes to have their voice heard within

the Olympic Movement.

The athletes at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing

2022 have elected Martin Fourcade (France, biathlon)

and Frida Hansdotter (Sweden , alpine skiing) to the

International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Athletes’

Commission (AC), for a term ending at the Olympic

Winter Games 2030.

At the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, four athletes have

been elected to the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission by

their peers:

• Pau Gasol (Spain, basketball);

• Maja Włoszczowska (Poland, cycling);

• Federica Pellegrini (Italy, aquatics);

• Yuki Ota (Japan, fencing).

These four athletes replaced the four members

whose mandates finished at the end of Tokyo 2020,

including Chair Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe, aquatics)

and members Danka Bartekova (Slovakia, shooting),

Tony Estanguet (France, canoe) and James Tomkins

(Great Britain, rowing). An appointed member of the

Commission, Stefan Holm (Sweden, athletics), will

also end his term next year.

In total, 6,825 athletes participated to the voting

booths, representing a participation rate of 61.27 per

cent, one of the highest in the history of AC elections.

At the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018,

two athletes have been elected to the to the IOC’s

Athletes’ Commission by their fellow Olympians:

• Emma Terho (Finland, ice hockey);

• Kikkan Randall (USA, cross-country skiing).

With a record participation rate of 83.86 per cent,

athletes at the Olympic Winter Games made their way

to the voting booths in the Athlete365 Space in both

the PyeongChang and Gangneung Olympic Villages

to cast their votes. All 2,930 athletes competing in

PyeongChang were eligible to vote and had six

candidates to choose from representing three

continents and five different sports.

During the Olympic Games Rio 2016, four athletes

have been elected to the IOC’s Athletes’ Commission

by their peers:

• Britta Heidemann (Germany, fencing);

• Seug-min Ryu (South Korea, table tennis);

• Daniel Gyurta (Hungary, aquatics);

• Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia, athletics).

Still during the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the IOC

appointed four new members to the IOC’s Athletes’

Commission:

• Nadin Dawani (Jordania, taekwondo);

• Aya Medany (Egypt, modern pentathlon);

• Saina Nehwal (India, badminton);

• Luis Scola (Argentina, basketball).

In total, 5,185 athletes participated to the voting

booths. They had to choose 4 athletes from four

different sports among 23 candidates from the same

number of countries.

During the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, two

athletes were elected to the IOC’s Athletes’

Commission by their peers:

• Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Norway, biathlon);

• Hayley Wickenheiser (Canada, ice hockey).

The two elected members replaced Rebecca Scott

(Canada, cross country) and Saku Koivu (Finland, ice

hockey), who were elected to the IOC’s Athletes’

Commission at the Olympic Winter Games Turin

2006 for a term of eight years each. In April 2016, Ole

Einar Bjørndalen (Norway, biathlon) resigned as an

IOC Member after his decision to continue his

biathlon career.

A new Olympic record was set by the Sochi athletes

after 80.87 per cent of them made their way to the

voting booths to cast their votes. Some 2,871 athletes

were eligible to vote and had nine candidates from the

same number of countries to choose from.

During the Olympic Games London 2012, four

athletes were elected by their peers to the IOC

Athletes’ Commission:

• Danka Bartekova (Slovakia, shooting);

• James Tomkins (Australia, rowing);

• Kirsty Coventry (Zimbabwe, aquatics);

• Tony Estanguet (France, canoe).

Some 6,924 athletes – 64 per cent of all eligible

voters – chose from among 21 candidates from the

same number of countries.

Selection criteria

Only NOCs with an athletes’ commission may put

forward a candidate. In order to be eligible, the

candidates have to have participated in the previous

edition of the Olympic Games, and/or have to have

taken part in the Games in which they are candidates.

The candidates have to be 18 years or older and have

never been found guilty of a doping offence during

their sports career.

The voice of the athletes

The IOC Athletes’ Commission is chaired by Emma

Terho (Finland) who was elected to this position by

the Commission members in 2021 coming after Kirsty

Coventry (Zimbabwe).

At each edition of the Olympic Games (Summer and

Winter), the athletes taking part are invited to vote to

elect the majority of the members of the Athletes’

Commission. The Commission has currently 17

members:

• eight summer sports athletes, elected during the

Games of the Olympiad (four at each edition of the

Games);

• four winter sports athletes, elected during the

Olympic Winter Games (two at each edition of the

Games); and

• up to eleven athletes, appointed by the IOC

President.

In addition, a representative of the World Olympians

Association (WOA) and a representative of the

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) are ex-

officio members.

Further information on the IOC Athletes’ Commission

here

Further information on IOC Members here.

For further information, please contact:

The Olympic Studies Centre

Tel. + 41 21 621 66 11

studies.centr[email protected]g