The 26-year-old law student, who won 27 caps for Scotland and reached the quarter-finals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, was elected by her fellow Commission members having previously been vice-chair.

Her position means that she will automatically be a member of the BWF ruling Council, which is due to be elected at the world governing body's annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur next month. 

Mason's deputy will be Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, who was elected as a member of the BWF Athletes' Commission during the All-England Championships in Birmingham last month, along with Indonesia's Greysia Polii, one of the eight players disqualified from London 2012 for throwing their matches, and Belgium's Yuhan Tan.

They join a Commission, established in 2008, which also includes Lee Yong Dae of South Korea and Rodrigo Pacheco of Peru, along with ex-officio member Pedro Yang of Guatemala.

As chair of the Commission, Mason will be a full voting member of the BWF Council and has the responsibility to advise the Council on matters relevant to athletes.

Mason, who is halfway through her four-year term on the Commission, will serve two years as chair until her term ends in 2015.

Mason, who graduated with a first class honours degree in chemistry from the University of Glasgow, is now retired from the sport and is currently studying at BPP Law School London.