No. 4 / 2001

IPC General Assembly
Elects Craven as President

Mr. Philip Craven from Great Britain was elected the new president of the International Paralympic Committee at the
IPC General Assembly held in Athens, Greece on 7 and 8 December 2001.

Craven has been President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation for the last twelve years. Having been a Paralympic athlete himself in the sports of Wheelchair Basketball and Swimming, Craven has a thorough understanding of athletes’ concerns.

“The IPC’s main responsibility has to be the organization, protection and development of increasingly successful Summer and Winter Paralympic Games,” said Craven after his election. “The Paralympic Games have not yet become a marketing and business circus. Our values really are the combination of genuine amateur ethics and high performance sport.”

Craven succeeds Dr. Robert Steadward, who presided the organization since its inauguration in 1989. According to the IPC Constitution, officers can only be elected for a maximum of three terms of four years. Thus, Steadward’s term could not be extended.

After Bob McCullough from Australia and Hans Lindström from Sweden dropped out in the first two rounds of the election, the voting delegates had to choose between François Terranova from France and Phil Craven, who finally took the lead.

Terranova then successfully defended his position as Vice-President Games Liaison, which he has already filled in the Mr. Philip Craven from Great Britain was elected the new president of the International Paralympic Committee at the IPC General Assembly held in Athens, Greece on 7 and 8 December 2001.

New members of the IPC Management Committee are Treasurer Mr. John Teunissen from the Netherlands and Medical Officer Dr. Björn Hedman from Sweden. Teunissen is the Managing Director of a company in the area of commercial and strategic business, and has already been a member of the IPC Finance Committee since 1991. Hedman is a senior consultant in neurology and head of the neuro-rehabilitation department, Spinal Cord Unit, at Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm.

The former Vice-President Policy and Planning, Dr. York Chow from Hong Kong, as well as Dr. Nabil Salem from Egypt, Vice-President Marketing and Communications, were reconfirmed in their positions. Also the IPC’s Technical Officer, Carol Mushett, and the organization’s Secretary General, Miguel Sagarra from Spain, will hold their offices for another term. There were no rival candidates nominated for these positions.

The Executive Committee also welcomed the following new members, whose positions are not elected by the IPC General Assembly, but determined by the respective regional committees and disability-specific International Sports Organizations for the Disabled (IOSDs): Mr. Greg Hartung (Australia) as a representative of the newly founded IPC South Pacific Region, Dr. Robert Price from Great Britain representing the European Paralympic Committee and Mr. Enrique Pérez, President of the International Blind Sport Association (IBSA).