December 17, (THEWILL) – The FIA has elected Mohammed Ben Sulayem as its next president, following Jean Todt, who has served as president for the past 12 years. Ben Sulayem is a 14-time FIA Middle East Rally champion and has won 61 international events in his career, which spanned 1983 to 2002.
The 60-year-old, who was born in the United Arab Emirates, has been vice-president for sport for the Middle East for the past 13 years and a member of the World Motor Sport Council during that time.
Ben Sulayem received a comfortable 62 percent of the vote in the FIA General Assembly, the governing body’s top decision-making body, which includes car and touring clubs, as well as national sporting authorities representing the 245 member organisations.
Graham Stoker, a barrister who has served as Todt’s deputy president since 2009, was defeated by Ben Sulayem making the latter the organisation’s first non-European president.
After serving the required three terms in office, Todt, who succeeded Max Mosley in 2009, was unable to run for re-election. The former Ferrari team principal has been linked to a consulting role with the scuderia.
“The votes are in, and we have won!” Ben Sulayem tweeted under his ‘FIA for Members’ banner. “We are thrilled that 62% of all clubs have given us their vote. We are truly humbled. The support from you will help us build a stronger federation.”
Fabiana Ecclestone, the wife of former Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone, will serve as vice-president for sport in South America under Ben Sulayem’s government.
Other key positions taken up in Ben Sulayem’s administration include:
Carmelo Sanz de Barros [president of the Senate]
Robert Reid [deputy president for sport]
Tim Shearman [deputy president for mobility]
Abdulla Al Khalifa [vice-president for sport – Middle East]
Rodrigo Ferreira Rocha [vice-president for sport – Africa]
Others are Daniel Coen [vice-president for sport – North America]
Fabiana Ecclestone [vice-president for sport – South America]
Lung-Nien Lee [vice-president for sport – Asia-Pacific]
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
