Saudi Ambassador to the US Reema Bandar Al Saud elected to International Olympic Committee

Princess Reema bint Bandar being elected as member of the International Olympic Committee. Courtesy Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee

Saudi Arabia's Princess Reema Bandar Al Saud has been appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Princess Reema, Saudi Ambassador to the United States, said she was "honoured" to be elected to the governing body on a four-year term and vowed to "serve her community through the universal language of sports".

The Saudi royal has spearheaded community sports programmes across the country in line with its Vision 2030 goals. In her capacity as former head of the Sports for All Federation (SFA), Princess Reema was behind initiatives that inspired thousands of people across the county to join the SFA’s drive for participation in physical fitness across the Kingdom.

The news was announced during a virtual meeting of the 136th session of the IOC last week. In addition to Princess Reema, the confirmations included Maria de la Caridad Colon Ruenes of Cuba, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic of Croatia, Battushig Batbold of Mongolia, and the UK’s Sebastian Coe.

The five new confirmations brings the total number of IOC Members to 104 with 39 of those women, an increase of almost 16 per cent from 2013.