Gagiev, Belarus' First Deputy Minister of Sports and Tourism, was the unanimous choice of the NOC RB Executive Committee. 

Vasily Yurchik, head of the NOC RB International Relations Department, was appointed Deputy Chef de Mission.

Belarus made their Olympic debut at Atlanta 1996 after gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Since then they have won a total of 76 medals in the Summer Olympics, including 12 gold.

Their best performance came at Beijing 2008 when they won 19 medals, four of them gold.

Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka won the Olympic mixed doubles at London 2012, one of two gold medals claimed by Belarus ©Getty Images

At London 2012 they won a total of 12 medals, with golds for Sergei Martynov in the men's 50 metre rifle prone and tennis players Max Mirnyi and Victoria Azarenka in the mixed doubles.

But the event was overshadowed for Belarus after women's shot put winner Nadzeya Astapchuk was stripped of her gold medal after testing positive for the anabolic steroid metenolone.

A team of 166 athletes competed in 20 sports at London 2012, a figure that Belarus hopes to at least match at Rio 2016.

The NOC RB Executive Board, who met in Minsk, also appointed Vasili Iourtchik as Chef de Mission for the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival in Georgian capital Tbilisi, which is due to take place between July 26 and August 1. 

Iourtchik had Deputy Chef de Mission for Belarus at London 2012.