Eduardo Montenegro will serve as acting President of the APC until next November ©APC

Cuba’s Eduardo Montenegro will serve as the acting President of the Americas Paralympic Committee (APC), it has been announced.

The decision was taken by the APC Executive Committee as their latest meeting in Peru’s capital city Lima.

Montenegro has been acting at the vice-president of the organisation, but has led the APC since the death of the previous President Jose Luis Campo on October 16.

Campo suffered a heart attack while participating in a fundraising walk and run event in Mar del Plata in Argentina.

The event was aimed at raising funds for organisations fighting children’s cancer.

The Argentine, who was 59, became the founding President of the APC in 1997 and served two terms until 2005.

He was then replaced by Brazil's Andrew Parsons, who served until 2009.

Colombia's Octavio Londono was in office until 2013, before Campo resumed duties by defeating him in an election, 14 votes to three, and was serving his fourth term following re-election in March.

The decision to appoint Montenegro comes as part of the APC being under the governance of the International Paralympic Committee, whose constitution stipulates that in the absence of the President, or if required, the Vice President will take over the tasks of the President.

Jose Luis Campo died at the age of 59 in October ©IPC
Jose Luis Campo died at the age of 59 in October ©IPC

He will serve until the APC Extraordinary General Assembly, when the next President will be elected.

The APC Executive Committee appointed the United States’ Julie O’Neill Dussliere as the vice-president at the meeting.

O’Neill previously served as a member at large of the APC, with her spot now set to be taken by Nicaragua’s Dionicio Zeledon.

Zeledon will join Ecuador’s Bayron Lopez and Colombia’s Pedro Mejia, who are current members are large.

The appointments of O’Neill and Zeledon are pending ratification of the IPC Governing Board.