Predictably, Sheikh Ahmad was voted in with a landslide at the General Assembly.

Equally predictably, the only one of the 203 National Olympic Committees present who voted against Sheikh Ahmad was Mexico, where Vázquez Raña is the former President.

Vázquez Raña, a 79-year-old Mexican billionaire, resigned last month following what he claimed was a "conspiracy".

But it followed several months of discontent with his dictatorial style of leadership.

Sheikh Ahmad, the 48-year-old former head of OPEC (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), promised to make ANOC a more transparent organisation.

"The idea now is to show more unity, our spirit and our solidarity," he said.

"Because of this solidarity we solved this problem and now we continue."


Sheikh Ahmad (pictured above with Australia's Kevan Gosper), who has led the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 1995, praised Vázquez Raña but also promised big changes.

"Our organisation needs a new modern constitution," he said.

"This [the current consitution] is not bad but it was written 30 years ago."

Other changes that Sheikh Ahmad proposed includuing ANOC having new headquarters in Lausanne and staging events to help fund it.

"The organisation shoud have a proper building not a flat in front of a hotel in Lausanne," he said.

"We should have our own events - that will make it more strong, like the international federations."

Sheikh Ahmad will initially complete the rest of Vázquez Raña's term before facing election again in two years.

Among the first to congratulate Sheikh Ahmad was Vladimir Putin, the Russian Prime Minister who is the President elect, who gave a speech to the Assembly, during which he praised the Olympic Movement for promoting "the principles of honest Games and mutual respect".

Alexander Zhukov, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), predicted that Sheikh Ahmad would usher in a new era for ANOC. 

"Sheikh Ahmad's election will inject new blood into the veins of ANOC," he said.

"Sheikh will revive the teamwork spirit to the Association and upgrade its performance to cope with the challenges ahead."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
March 2012: Olympic Movement urged to show "unity, solidarity and cooperation" following Vázquez Raña resignation
March 2012: Exclusive - Kuwait Sheikh set to replace Vázquez Raña as head of ANOC
March 2012: Vázquez Raña blames rivals as he resigns as head of ANOC and Olympic Solidarity
March 2012: Anger as Vázquez Raña uses re-election to settle old scores
March 2012: Vázquez Raña facing Mexican rebellion as power base continues to crumble