The application deadline for the position of FIS-President has meanwhile expired, so that only one candidate stands for election at the FIS Congress on May 26th in Milan: incumbent Johan Eliasch. The 60-year-old has been leading the ski association since June 2021 as the successor to the long-standing and now deceased ex-president Gian Franco Kasper on. If Eliasch is now re-elected, his term of office will run for four more years until 2026.
The national associations have different numbers of votes depending on their size and relevance: three, two or one vote. In addition to the president, the FIS also elects 18 other board members at the congress in Milan, some of which also takes place online, whose term of office will run until 2024.
FIS introduces women’s quota
Based on the new statutes, there are two innovations in the composition of the board: The smaller nations with only one vote and those with two votes must each be represented with at least one seat on the board. In addition, at least three of the 18 board members must be female.
So far, the FIS management has been a male domain, currently the Russian Elena Vyalbe is the only woman on the board. In addition to Vyalbe, four other women are applying for the new term of office. Franz Steinle, President of the German Ski Association DSV, is standing for re-election on behalf of Germany. The board also includes freestyler Hannah Kearney (USA) and cross-country skier Martti Jylha (Finland). The two represent the active athletes and are elected until 2023.
Surprisingly clear election victory of Eliasch
Eliasch had surprisingly won the presidential election in June 2021. As a career changer in sports policy, the businessman prevailed with 54 percent of the votes against the President of the Swiss Association, Urs Lehmann (21 percent). The Brit sarah lewis who had surprisingly been dismissed as FIS General Secretary six months earlier received 12 percent.
Some eligible voters may have voted for Eliasch in the hope of bringing a breath of fresh air to the association, which is considered to be antiquated. Eliasch left as the owner and managing director of the successful ski brand Head entered the race and promised above all growth and international expansion. He wants to forego his presidential salary.
Doubts about resigning as managing director
Shortly after the election, he also kept a promise and announced his resignation as Managing Director of Head. He probably wanted to avoid the question of what he focuses on when making decisions as FIS President: the well-being of the democratic association and its members or the profit of his company?
However, Eliasch remained the owner of Head and there are doubts about his retirement from management. At the beginning of March, Sport inside found out when looking at several company registers that Eliasch is still listed there as managing director – at the higher-level holding company and at subsidiaries, for example in Austria. The conflict of interest is therefore by no means eliminated.