The General Congress elects the President, three Vice Presidents and seven Council Members for a four or five-year term. The General Secretary is a non-voting member of the IIHF Council. Click on the links below for biographies of the council members.

Horst Lichtner  Close Biography
Horst Lichtner assumed the position as the General Secretary of the IIHF on November 1, 2006. He who was born in Essen, Germany in 1959, and came from a position as the Marketing Director of the German Football (Soccer) Association, a job he held between 2001-2006. He was earlier the CEO of the CWL Marketing AG (1994-1997), the commercial partner of the IIHF. Between 1997 and 2001, Lichtner was Marketing Director of TEAM AG, the commercial partner of the UEFA Champions League.

Lichtner's first experience in ice hockey came when he was involved with the preparations for the 1993 IIHF World Championship in Germany. He was also involved in the organization behind the 1996 and the 1997 IIHF World Championships.

Horst Lichtner resides in Lucerne, Switzerland. He is married and has two children.