IOC elects first female member from Iran to join exclusive global Olympic body
Iranian badminton player Soraya Aghaei Hajiagha speaks during her oath ceremony as a newly appointed member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the 145th IOC session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 Credit: AP/Luca Bruno
MILAN — The International Olympic Committee elected its first female member from Iran on Wednesday, who also became the current youngest representative.
Soraya Aghaei is now the 107th member of the IOC by a 95-2 vote as just the third-ever Iranian representative and the first since 2004.
The IOC invites prospective members to join an exclusive body that includes former Olympic athletes, leaders of international sports bodies, members of royal families, former political leaders, diplomats, industrialists and an Oscar-winning actress.
Aghaei joins the global Olympic body when it is led by the first female president in its 132-year history, Kirsty Coventry. Women now comprise 45% of the IOC membership.
Aghaei's eight-year term on the will include voting to choose a host for the 2036 Summer Games.
The 30-year-old member of the Iranian Olympic body’s athletes commission became the youngest IOC member at the same meeting 31-year-old Samira Asghari of Afghanistan was reelected for her second term.
Aghaei competed in badminton at the Tokyo Summer Games held in 2021 as Iran’s first female Olympian in the sport.
Iranian badminton player Soraya Aghaei Hajiagha, center left, poses with International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry during her oath ceremony as a newly appointed member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the 145th IOC session ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Credit: AP/Daniel Munoz
The previous Iranian badminton player at the Olympics, in 2008 at Beijing, was Kaveh Mehrabi who is now director of the IOC athletes’ department.
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