Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein elected FEI President

Approximately 300 participants representing 133 National Federations affiliated to the FEI, elected today at the General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein as its 13th FEI President.

HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein (JOR) is the daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and wife of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

As an international rider, she took part in the Games of the XXVII Olympiad in Sydney in 2000 and in the 2002 FEI World Equestrian Games. Princess Haya is member of the IOC Athletes’ and Culture and Olympic Education Commissions and is the first Arab and first woman to ever become Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme.

HRH Princess Haya has been elected for a term of four years, i.e. until 2010.

Much has been achieved during the 12 years of the presidency of Doña Pilar de Borbón. The number of international equestrian events has grown from 500 in 1994 to almost 1800 in 2005. There were 39 nations competing in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games compared to 25 in Atlanta in 1996. The sport has developed tremendously, but most importantly, the FEI has become an open organisation all the constituents of which communicate with each other. The federation is skilfully adapting to the modern commercial sports environment to gain its rightful place: at the heart of horsesport.