The 51-year-old Swede will be an ambassador for the LET in the newly-created role.

She will work closely with the Players’ Council, chief executive Ivan Khodabakhsh and chairman Mark Lichtenhein, who is another new appointment.

Together they will aim to promote the organisation, acting as a bridge between the Board and members.

Alfredsson, a life member of the LET, joined the Tour in 1989 and competed for 25 seasons before stepping away from competitive play at the 2013 Helsingborg Open in her homeland.

She accumulated 21 worldwide tournament victories during her time as a player, including one LPGA Major - the 1993 Nabisco Dinah Shore.

Her first win came at the 1990 Women’s British Open, 11 years before the tournament became a Major, and she also claimed three Evian Masters titles.

Alfredsson participated in eight Solheim Cups, including the inaugural competition in 1990, and made her last appearance in 2009, two years after captaining the European team when they lost 16-12 to the United States in Swedish city Halmstad.

"I am honoured to be the first President of the Ladies European Tour and am very excited about this opportunity to work as part of the team with the chief executive and chairman," she said when commenting on her new role.

"Our diverse skills complement each other and together we can bring a fresh approach to the LET and build a stronger tour together.

"I’m thrilled to be able to give something back to the tour after all these years and to be able to represent the membership as its President."

As chairman of the Board of Directors, Lichtenhein will be responsible for further developing the Tour and its international business activities.

His considerable commercial experience includes working for the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) European Tour for 16 years.

During that time, he played a key role in delivering the Tour’s global television products, including the Ryder Cup, to all international markets.

A keen supporter of the LET, Lichtenhein worked closely with the organisation on a number of projects before joining the Board of Directors in December 2015.

"It’s a great privilege to be elected LET chairman at this exciting time for women’s golf, particularly given golf’s unique position as the only Olympic sport that Europe plays together as a team," said Lichtenhein, who is also the current chairman of the Sports Rights Owners Coalition (SROC).

"I look forward to working closely with the Board and the Tour’s executives to build on the opportunities that are now open to us."

Khodabakhsh welcomed both appointments.

"The unanimous decision by all directors to choose Helen Alfredsson as Player President and Mark Lichtenhein as chairman is excellent news for our organisation," he said.

"Their combined management expertise, commercial experience, strength of character and influence in the world of golf will give everyone within our Tour and connected to us great confidence.

"I am delighted to personally welcome Helen as our President and Mark as our new chairman and I look forward to working with them both as we continue to build on the success of the Ladies European Tour both at home in Europe and around the world on behalf of the membership."

Alfredsson is one six player directors on the LET Board of Directors along with American Beth Allen, France’s Sophie Giquel Bettan, English duo Rebecca Hudson and Trish Johnson, and Scotland’s Pamela Pretswell.

The LET Board of Directors also includes Lichtenhein, fellow non-executive directors Vivek Batra and Michael Siebold, and Khodabakhsh.