https://arab.news/b3qty
- Princess Reema has been Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US since February 2019
- Also elected to the IOC was Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, and four others
JEDDAH: Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud has been elected as member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during its session on Friday.
“Honored to be elected as a member of IOC. Thank you to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, HRH Crown Prince, and Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki Al-Faisal (president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee) for their support. It has been an honor to serve my community through the universal language of sports,” said the princess on her official Twitter account.
Five candidates — three women and two men — have been nominated for membership by the IOC executive board.
The 136th IOC session chaired by its president, Dr. Thomas Bach, was held virtually on Friday, and voted in Princess Reema as the first Saudi women to hold this post. Princess Reema is the third Saudi in this position after the late Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1983-1999), and Prince Nawwaf bin Faisal bin Fahd Al Saud (2001-2014).
Also elected to the IOC was Sebastian Coe, the head of World Athletics, former Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Cuban Olympic Committee (COC) board member Maria de la Caridad Colon Ruenes and acting Mongolian National Olympic Committee president Battushig Batbold.
Princess Reema has been Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US since February 2019, and is the first female to hold the post. She attended George Washington University, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in museum studies.
In October 2018, she was appointed president of the Mass Participation Federation, making her the first woman to lead a multi-sports federation in the Kingdom, a role she occupied until her appointment as Saudi ambassador to the US.
Princess Reema has served as a member of the World Bank’s advisory council for the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative since 2017. She has been a member of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee since 2017 and a member of the IOC Women in Sports Commission since 2018.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, president of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee (SAOC), thanked King Salman and the Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman for their continued support for all sports, both internally and externally.
He congratulated Princess Reema on her election, saying that it confirms the ability of Saudi sports cadres to be present at an international level in organizations such as the IOC, which is the highest sporting authority in the world, where she, along with her colleagues, can work towards promoting Olympic values in Saudi Arabia and the world.