Johan Eliasch and the FIS Presidency: A Controversial Candidate
Johan Eliasch faces fierce opposition in FIS presidential re-election bid
Johan Eliasch must truly be desperate to cling to power—or perhaps he is utterly convinced that the world of skiing simply cannot function without him. Likely, both apply to a man who carries himself with such vanity and infallibility.
To secure re-election at the FIS Congress in Belgrade in mid-June, Eliasch is pulling out all the stops. One might even say the 64-year-old is reaching deep into his bag of tricks—so deep, in fact, that he has abruptly switched nationalities. Johan Eliasch, the Swedish-born businessman with a British passport, is now old news. Instead, the FIS president is reinventing himself as a bona fide Georgian: Johan Eliasch has magically become Johan Eliaschwili.
This sudden yet calculated change of allegiance is almost certainly inspired by the FIS's own statutes. According to Article 10.10, any candidate running for the presidency must be nominated by a member association—and to qualify, they must hold a valid passport from the country of that nominating body.
Enter Georgia. Almost overnight, Eliasch has transformed into a Georgian citizen, and one can only assume the billionaire has already mastered the national anthem, Tavisupleba ("Freedom"), in his sleep.
Or is this freshly minted Georgian passport, conjured out of thin air, his last-ditch attempt to cling to office by any means necessary?
Raised Eyebrows at the Austrian Ski Federation
"It comes as a surprise to many that the FIS president is now Georgian," says Christian Scherer, secretary-general of the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV), who views Eliasch's tenure with deep skepticism. "People can draw their own conclusions."
Tellingly, neither the British nor the Swedish ski associations have endorsed the incumbent president. In fact, the British federation has officially put forward a challenger: Victoria Gosling. She is joined by Liechtenstein's Alexander Ospelt, Denmark's Anna Harboe Falkenberg, and the American Dexter Paine—with the two men considered Eliasch's most formidable rivals.
Backlash and Rival Candidates
In his last election in May 2022, Johan Eliasch faced no opposition—yet even then, he encountered significant resistance, as many national federations abstained from approving his candidacy.
Now, with four candidates stepping up to challenge him, the state of the international federation and Eliasch's leadership style are under sharp scrutiny. The man who once promised to usher skiing into a new era has precious little to show for it—despite his 42-page manifesto on the FIS website, where he boasts of his achievements and grand visions for the future.
Will that be enough to secure re-election?
I hope that after the next election, he is no longer president. He is simply not fit for the role.
—Peter Schröcksnadel, former ÖSV president, on Johan Eliasch
Federations Distance Themselves
More and more national federations are now keeping their distance. The ÖSV leadership makes no secret of its push for a change at the top.
Ironically, the ÖSV played a part in Eliasch's rise to power. In 2021, then-president Peter Schröcksnadel had long championed Swiss candidate Urs Lehmann for the FIS presidency. But just before the June election, Schröcksnadel abruptly switched sides, throwing his support behind Eliasch—who was duly elected.
Today, that same president is someone many federations, including the ÖSV, would prefer to remove from office sooner rather than later. Even Schröcksnadel, once an early backer, has since turned against Eliasch. "I hope that after the next election, he is no longer president," he says. "He is simply not fit for the role."
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