The EOC revealed it received candidatures from all 49 National Olympic Committees and it was a tough decision to choose from experienced candidates, but in making its choices it tried to ensure a balanced representation and expertise.

George Katulin, secretary general of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus since 2005, will lead the EOC's Olympic Games Commission.

The Olympic Culture and Legacy Commission will be chaired by Susanna Rahkamo, vice-president of the Finnish Olympic Committee. 

Rahkamo is a former World Championship silver medallist in ice dancing and competed at the Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France in 1992 and Lillehammer, Norway in 1994.

Víctor Sánchez will chair the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) Commission.

Sánchez, secretary general of the Spanish Olympic Committee, was the chief executive of the unsuccessful Madrid bid for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

He was also secretary general of the Spanish Fencing Federation from 1985 to 1992 and was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the International Fencing Federation in 2004.

Next year will see the Winter EYOF taking place in Vorarlberg and Lichtenstein in January, while Tbilisi, Georgia, is due to host the Summer edition next July.

Secretary general of the Olympic Committee of Spain, Víctor Sánchez, has been appointed as chairman of the EOC's Commission responsible for the European Youth Olympic Festival ©AFP/Getty Images




President of the Estonian Olympic Committee, Neinar Seli, will lead the European Union Commission.

Irishman William O'Brien will chair the Environment and Sport for All Commission.

O'Brien, who has a background in archery, is vice-president of the Olympic Council of Ireland and served as deputy Chef de Mission at Sydney 2000. 

The Marketing and Communication Commission will be headed by Peter Mennel, who currently serves as secretary general of the Austrian Olympic Committee.

The EOC's chief medical officer, Dr Klaus Steinbach, has been appointed chairman of the Medical and Anti-Doping Commission.

The German, winner of Olympic silver and bronze swimming medals at Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976, is a former President of the German Olympic Committee before it merged with the German Sports Federation in 2006 to become the German Olympic Sports Confederation.

He served as Germany's Chef de Mission at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Turin 2006.

Steinbach was also appointed as the chief medical officer of the inaugural European Games taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan next year.

Former head of the German Olympic Committee, Dr Klaus Steinbach, will chair the EOC Medical and Anti-Doping Commission ©Bongarts/Getty Images




Daina Gudzineviciute will lead the Gender Equality in Sport Commission.

A gold medal-winning trap shooter at Sydney 2000, Gudzineviciute was elected as President of the National Olympic Committee of Lithuania ahead of double Olympic and world champion discus thrower Virgilijus Alekna in 2012.

"We want to congratulate all those appointed to Commissions and look forward to benefitting from the fruits of their work," said EOC President Pat Hickey.

The EOC says a full list of all Commission members will be made available in due course.

"The chairs of the Commissions will be contacting their fellow members in due course so as to arrange a meeting of their Commission," added EOC secretary general, Raffaele Pagnozzi.

"The secretariat in Rome will collect and provide all contact details related to the Commission members."

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