Sebastian Coe has been elected as the new president of the International Association of Athletics Federations.
The 58-year-old beat rival Sergey Bubka by 115 votes to 92 at the IAAF Congress in Beijing.
"Delighted and humbled by the confidence shown in me by the IAAF family - thank you, now the hard work begins," he tweeted after winning the four-year term.
The double Olympic champion Coe, who served as chairman of the London 2012 organising committee, reportedly travelled 700,000km during the election campaign in a bid to defeat his Ukrainian rival.
He replaces Lamine Diack, who stood down after 16 years. The two-time Olympic champion inherits a sport in a crisis, amid mounting allegations of doping.
The new president of the IAAF is @sebcoe pic.twitter.com/q2lwjxOAc4
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 19, 2015
.@sebcoe: "I am deeply honoured that our sport has placed its trust in me. There is no job I want to do more – nor with greater commitment."
— IAAF (@iaaforg) August 19, 2015
