Malaysia's Tunku Imran Loses CGF President Post, Martin First Female President

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- The Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Tunku Imran Tuanku Ja'afar's four year reign as the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president came to an end Wednesday. He was defeated by Scotland's Louise Martin at the Commonwealth Games Associations (CGF) general assembly held in Auckland, New Zealand. The 69-year-old Louise, who was the honorary secretary of the CGF since 1999, has been elected as CGF's first female president. "I would like to thank you all for being a great organisation and it has been a pleasure to have led for the past four years," Tunku Imran was quoted as saying in a video posted online by the CGF. According to a news portal, www.insidethegames.biz, no voting figures were immediately available. Martin, the chair of SportScotland, had been vice-president of Glasgow 2014 and had visited 64 Commonwealth countries last year in the build-up to the Games, giving her a strong platform to start her campaign which ended with her becoming the first female president in the CGF's 85-year history. The news portal noted that Martin was a former swimmer who competed for Scotland at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth and had managed the country's gymnastics team at Victoria 1994. "From my earliest days competing as an athlete to my time serving the CGF executive board, the Commonwealth sporting family has had a profound effect on my life," said Martin following her election. "I am extremely proud and humbled to be elected as president of the CGF and I believe that the time is right for a new style of leadership to ensure that together we can fully unlock our potential and deliver on the needs of CGAs," she said. --BERNAMA