BEIJING: For the first time in Olympic history, a UNHCR-recognised refugee has been elected as an IOC Member. 
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Yiech Pur Biel is an Olympian, who competed as a member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team Rio 2016 and was a team manager for the same team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
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His election was possible at the 139th Olympic Session which saw five new members altogether voted in.
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Olympic bronze medallist Danka Barteková (Slovakia), having been an IOC Member as an elected athletes’ representative from 2012 until 2021, and having been Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission from 2018 to 2021, was also elected.
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Both Biel and Barteková were elected as Independent Individuals.David Lappartient (France) was elected as an IOC Member linked to his function as President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
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Olympians Martin Fourcade (France) and Frida Hansdotter (Sweden), elected by their peers earlier this week as members of the IOC Athletes’ Commission (AC), were also elected by the Session as IOC Members, bringing the number of active athletes’ representatives in the IOC membership to 15.
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The term of office of all the newly elected IOC Members is eight years.
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The Session elected Juan Antonio Samaranch (Spain) as an IOC vice-president. His term as Vice-President will start on 20 May after the conclusion of the 139th IOC Session.
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Nenad Lalović (Serbia) and Ivo Ferriani (Italy) were also re-elected as EB members. The terms for the EB members is four years.
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Nicole Hoevertsz(Aruba) was re-elected for an additional eight years. A change of status to Independent Individual was also approved for Ms Hoevertsz.
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IOC Member Poul-Erik Høyer (Denmark) informed the Session that, for personal reasons, he was not seeking re-election. Therefore his membership will end at the close of the 139th Session in May.
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The age limit of 70 for IOC Member Luis Moreno (Colombia) was extended for four years. He has been the IOC permanent observer to the United Nations since 2019.
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