The 54-year-old won the individual Nordic combined title for Switzerland at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary.

He has now been placed in charge of his country's biathlon, cross-country skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined programmes.

Kempf also won two team medals at the Olympics, a silver in Calgary and then bronze at Lillehammer 1994.

His new role sees him promoted from his current position of head of cross-country skiing.

"To develop the Nordic disciplines as Nordic director and to prepare them for the future in an optimal way is a big challenge for me but a matter of the heart at the same time," Kempf said.

"I have been very attached to Nordic winter sports since my earliest childhood."

Talks are underway to find a new head of cross-country skiing to replace Kempf.

"We are very happy that we were able to hire Hippolyt Kempf as director," said Bernhard Aregger, the chief executive of SwissSki. 

"Nobody in Switzerland has better national and international contacts than him. 

"On top, he has a big sports-political network which is very helpful for our association. 

"He is predestined for this position and has already put his stamp on many positive developments at SwissSki in the past."