The 55-year-old beat René Roch 66 votes to 61 having been defeated by his French rival four years ago in the previous election.

Since then, though, Usmanov, a former sabre fencer who once formed part of the Uzbek Republic team. has become head of the European Fencing Confederation (EFC) and pumped much-needed cash into the sport.

Usmanov is also the single largest individual shareholder in Arsenal, owning nearly 25 per cent of the club having spent more than £100 million buying into the club.

Only last week he spent £374,000 buying another 48 shares in the London club.

It has been claimed that he has also invested more than €3 million (£2.3 million) in fencing since taking over as EFC President.

Usmanov was elected after promising to raise up to $60 million (£40.8 million) in sponsorship, which will be invested it into the development. of the sport.

He pledged that the money will be allocated for assistance to new and developing national federations, opening of the international department for training coaches, guaranteeing of the participation of three athletes from each country the World Championships at both senior and junior level.

Usmanov, who is Russia's 18th richest man, with a fortune estimated at $5.5 billion (£2.6 billion), also promised to try to get more fencing disciplines included on the Olympic programme.

He said: “Full-scale participation of fencing in the Olympics is one of the main priorities of our election programme."

He is known in business circles as "the hard man of Russia" and spent six years in jail during the 1980s for crimes committed in the Soviet Union, allegedly for "complicity in an official's receiving bribes and extortion".

Usmanov has since risen to become of the most influential men in Russian society and his election to his new post will be welcomed by the Government as they seek to spread their influence in world sport.

He is married to Irina Viner, the chief coach of the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation,

He is also one of the founders of a special fund to finance Russian athletes preparing for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Games.