Bach was chosen over fellow presidential candidates Sergey Bubka (Ukraine), Richard Carrion (Puerto Rico), Ser Miang Ng (Singapore), Denis Oswald (Switzerland) and Ching-kuo Wu (Chinese Taipei).

“Thank you very much to all of you,” said President Bach following his election. First of all I would like to thank from the bottom of my heart all my dear friends and colleagues who voted for me this morning. This is really an overwhelming sign of trust and confidence. But I would also like to thank my fellow candidates, who I greatly respect, and all those who did not vote for me this time. I will also work for and with you in the coming years and want to win your confidence too. I know about the great responsibility of an IOC President. This makes me humble. I want to lead the IOC according to my motto “unity in diversity.”

“I want to be a President for all of you. This means I will do my very best to balance well all the different interests of the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement. This is why I want to listen to you and to enter into an on-going dialogue with all of you. You should know that my door, my ears, and my heart are always open for you,” he said.

At this post, Thomas Bach will replace Jacques Rogge of Belgium, who had headed the organization since 2001.

It is worth to mention that in last eleven years under management of Jacques Rogge, the assets of the IOC rose nine times and almost reached US$1 billion mark.

Jacques Rogge said that the assets of the organization rose from US$105 million to US$901 million in last eleven years.