The 2010 FEI Presidential election at the FEI General Assembly in Taipei on 5 November 2010 is only the second contested election in FEI history and the first in which an incumbent President has been challenged when seeking re-election.
HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein will bid for her second term as President when voting takes place at the 2010 General Assembly in Taipei on 5 November. Two other candidates will be standing against her. Sweden’s Sven Holmberg, the current First Vice President of the FEI and Henk Rottinghuis, former Vice President of the Netherlands Equestrian Federation, were confirmed as Presidential candidates when applications closed on 1 May 2010.
HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein became the Federation’s 13th President in May 2006 at the FEI General Assembly in Malaysia. This was the first-ever contested Presidential election since the FEI was founded in 1921. Voting took place over two rounds with Princess Haya receiving 82 votes in the second round.
HRH Princess Haya Al Hussein (JOR) is the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. HRH Princess Haya has been riding internationally since the age of 13. In 1992 she won the individual bronze medal in Jumping at the seventh Pan Arab Games and the following year was elected Jordan’s athlete of the year. After years of intensive training in Ireland and Germany, she qualified for and took part in the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney in 2000, followed by her participation in the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games at Jerez de la Frontera (ESP). She has represented Jordan at the FEI General Assembly on several occasions. HRH Princess Haya became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 2007 and was this year appointed to the IOC International Relations Committee. She is also a member of the IOC Athletes’ and Culture and Olympic Education Commissions and is president and founder of the International Jordanian Athletes Cultural Association. She is the first Arab and first woman ever to become Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme. In 2007 she was appointed as a UN Messenger of Peace by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Sven Holmberg (SWE) is currently First Vice President of the FEI. He has been Chairman of the FEI Jumping Committee since 2005 and is a highly respected judge. He has been organising national competitions since 1973 and a member of the Swedish Equestrian Federation for 15 years. He has been President of the FEI World Cup Jumping Finals on four occasions and a foreign judge at international competitions since 1988, including four FEI World Cup Finals.He was Sports Director at the inaugural FEI World Equestrian Games in Stockholm in 1990 and served as the Swedish Dressage team’s Chef d’Equipe at two Olympics and two World Equestrian Games. He was also Chairman of the FEI’s Doping and Medication Policy Task Force established in 2004, which reported to the General Assembly in London in 2005, and a member of the Ljungqvist Commission on Anti-Doping & Medication that was established at the 2008 General Assembly in Buenos Aires and which reported to last year’s General Assembly in Copenhagen.
Henk Rottinghuis (NED) has been involved in equestrian sport for 45 years, both as a competitor and administrator. He competed in national Dressage competitions for 11 years from 1970 and went on to work as a referee and assist in the organisation of several international Driving competitions, including the World Championships in Apeldoorn (NED). He was a member of the Dutch Equestrian Federation from 1999 to 2004, serving as Vice President and steering the organisation through major organisational restructuring, which brought 16 separate member groups under one umbrella as the Royal Dutch Equestrian Federation (KNHS). In 2003 he was elected Equestrian Sportsman of the Year for his services to the KNHS. In 2005 Rottinghuis initiated the largest ever one-day equestrian event in the Netherlands, with over 700 horses taking part in the Royal Salute to mark the 25th Jubilee of HM Beatrix Queen. At the 2009 FEI General Assembly in Copenhagen (DEN), Rottinghuis was elected as a member of the FEI Audit and Compliance Committee. He relinquished his position in May in order to run for the FEI Presidency.
Election process
As per the FEI Statutes, in order to be elected, a candidate for President must receive two-thirds of the valid ballots cast in the first or second ballots. Abstentions are not counted as cast votes. In the event that multiple Ballots are necessary under Article 24.4, a Simple Majority shall be sufficient for Election on the third Ballot, or on the second if only two candidates remain.
When there are multiple Candidates and none receives the necessary majority, the Candidate with the least number of votes received shall be removed from the list of Candidates and another Ballot shall be held. This procedure shall be repeated until a Candidate receives the necessary majority.
Successive FEI Presidents
- 1921 – 1927: Baron du Teil (FRA)
- 1927 – 1929: Colonel G.J. Maris (NED)
- 1929 – 1931: Major J.K. Quarles van Ufford (NED)
- 1931 – 1935: General Guy V. Henry (USA)
- 1935 – 1936: General Max Frh. Von Holzing-Bertstett (GER)
- 1936 – 1939: Lt. Col. J.K. Quarles van Ufford (NED)
- 1939 – 1946: M. Magnus Rydman (FIN)
- 1946 – 1954: General Baron Gaston de Trannoy (BEL)
- 1954 – 1964: HRH Bernard, Prince of the Netherlands
- 1964 – 1986: HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (GBR)
- 1986 – 1994: HRH The Princess Royal (GBR)
- 1994 – 2006: HRH The Infanta Don?a Pilar de Borbo?n (ESP)
- 2006 - .......: HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein (JOR)
Related Links
Use of NSAIds to Be Put to Vote at 2010 General Assembly
Princess Haya Calls For "Time Out:" Progressive List Rediscussed at 2010 General Assembly