Their elections at the IOC Session were effectively a formality, as the pair were the only candidates for the two places which had become vacant on the Executive Board.

The first position became available with Sweden's Gunilla Lindberg coming to the end of her eight-year term.

The second is set to be created because Guatemala's Willi Kaltschmitt Luján will have to step down as an IOC member at the end of the year due to reaching the mandatory age limit of 80 on August 13.

Kaltschmitt was not officially due to reach the end of his eight-year term on the Executive Board until 2020.

It had initially been expected that Morocco’s El Moutawakel would replace Lindberg, leaving Jordan’s Prince Faisal to succeed Kaltschmitt.

However, El Moutawakel requested her candidacy to be postponed until January to allow Prince Faisal to assume his place on the Executive Board immediately.

The request was described as a "nice gesture" from IOC President Bach.

Prince Faisal was therefore elected with immediate effect, having received 58 votes in favour from IOC members.

He received six votes, while there were also three abstentions.

El Moutawakel will assume her post in January, having received 57 votes in favour, compared to seven against.

There were also three abstentions.

The main significance of the switch is that Prince Faisal will participate in the IOC Executive Board meeting in Lausanne from December 3 to 5.

Prince Faisal, the son of King Hussein and the younger brother of King Abdullah II, was a member of the Royal Jordanian Air Force but has increasingly devoted himself to sport.

The 55-year-old has been President of the JOC since 2003 and is the founder and chairman of the charity Generations for Peace, launched in 2007.

Since joining the IOC in 2010, Prince Faisal has been a member of a number of commissions and working groups.

Prince Faisal is vice-chair of the IOC Women in Sport Commission and is a member of the IOC Evaluation Commission for Tokyo 2020.

He is the chair of a newly created Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) Gender Equity Commission.

Prince Faisal also heads an IOC working group aimed at eradicating harassment and sexual abuse problems.

El Moutawakel is a pioneer for Arab and Muslim athletes.

She won the inaugural women's 400 metres hurdles event at Los Angeles 1984, becoming the first female Muslim born in Africa to become an Olympic champion.

El Moutawakel was also the first Moroccan and the first woman from a Muslim majority country to win an Olympic gold medal.

El Moutawakel’s had previously served as chair of the Rio 2016 Coordination Commission and

She is also a member of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Council.