He won 62% of the vote
Mohammed bin Sulayem, President of the International Automobile Federation
Yesterday, Mohamed Ben Sulayem was elected President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), succeeding French Jean Todt, who has held his position since 2009.
The former Middle East Rally Champion received 61.62% of the vote, while his only competitor, Britain's Graham Stocker, received 36.62%.
The 198 voting members (245 in all, but some of them do not have the right to vote) elected Ben Sulayem for the next four years in Paris, where the FIA is based.
Bin Sulayem (60 years old), who was the FIA's vice president for the Middle East, became the first non-European president to take over the presidency of the highest body supervising motor sport since its founding in 1904.
In a statement published recently on the Motorsport website, the former Emirati champion said: “Motorsport has given me a lot, most of my life.” He added, “As a driver for twenty years, I won 14 times in the Middle East Rally Championship, and then I received a position Regulatory for motorsport in my home.
I think it is time to give this back to the sport and the International Federation.”
Bin Sulayem, who also heads the UAE Automobile Federation, revealed that he is enthusiastic "to bring about change and improvement, to follow the same approach, in addition to improving as well."
Bin Sulayem faced a competition with the person of Stalker, the 69-year-old who in turn is one of Todd's deputies and is considered the right hand of the latter, after he became since 2009 the vice president of "FIA" for this sport.
Since 1985 the Sports Dispute Solicitor has risen the ranks of the motorsport federations, both nationally in the UK and internationally.
The new president intends to modernize the FIA and make it more transparent, promising in his statement an external audit of governance, an assessment of financial conditions and the creation of transparent financial reports and budgets.
Bin Sulayem will also appoint a CEO to head the authority for daily management, in a precedent not seen in the FIA corridors.
On the sporting front, Bin Sulayem wants by 2025 to double the global participation in motorsports, and to achieve his goal he hopes to target young people by promising local production of cross-cars (light buggies) and karting cars.
The 14-time Middle East Rally Champion was supported by the Gulf and Arab countries, which have become an important pawn on the global motorsport map, by organizing a number of major sporting events, as the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain host a round of the Formula One World Championship in 2022, on the Qatar will join it in 2023, after it organized the first grand prix in its history this year, to be absent next year due to its organization of the World Cup in football.
Bahrain hosted the first Grand Prix in its history at the Sakhir International Circuit in 2004, while the UAE followed in 2009 with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Todd, 75, leaves his post after three terms during which he oversaw several changes to the laws of the Formula One and rally world championships in particular.
• Bin Sulayem intends to conduct an external audit of governance, an assessment of financial conditions, and the establishment of a transparent budget.
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