The 45-year-old Sydney 2000 coxless pairs champion garnered 117 of the 179 ballots cast at the 2013 Ordinary Congress in Chungju ahead of Australian John Boultbee and Canada's Tricia Smith, who took 50 and 12 votes respectively.

The required absolute majority was 90 votes.

Having led FISA since 1989, Oswald, who is running for Presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), announced that he would step down at the organisation's 2013 Extraordinary Congress earlier this year.

The Congress unanimously elected Swiss Oswald as FISA Honorary President for Life "in recognition of his outstanding contribution to rowing over the past 36 years".

FISA's ruling Council decided to stage the election of Oswald's successor ahead of his departure next year "to assist the newly elected 'President-elect' in the transfer of knowledge and introductions to the international sports world".

Rolland, a former rowing world champion and three-time Olympian, was appointed to the FISA Athletes' Commission in 1994, serving as chair from 2002 to 2011, and served on the Executive Committee from 2004 to 2011 - at which time the FISA Council appointed him as a coopted member.

Jean-Christophe Rolland (right) will replace Denis Oswald (left) as FISA President next year



Despite failing to secure the FISA Presidency, Smith did, somewhat surprisingly, manage to depose American Anita DeFrantz as vice-president.

Smith took 98 of the 178 possible votes ahead Montreal 1976 women's eight bronze medallist DeFrantz, an IOC member who had held the post since 1993.

Briton Michael Williams was re-elected unopposed as treasurer, while Boultbee along with Hong Kong's Mike Tanner were re-elected to the Executive Committee.

German rower Lenka Wech, chair of the Athletes' Commission, became the only new member of the Executive Committee.

The national rowing federations of Benin, Botswana, Mali, Saudi Arabia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were also admitted as new members of FISA, bringing the total number of member federations to 142.

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