Borussia Dortmund elect a new president as key figure voted into role after serving 20 years as chief executive

Hans-Joachim Watzke has been elected as the new president of Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, succeeding Dr. Reinhold Lunow after serving as the club’s chief executive for over 20 years. The 66-year-old was voted in with 59 percent of the votes during a marathon annual general meeting that lasted over 13 hours and vowed to create history for the football club.

Watzke elected president with 59% of the vote

Watzke is the 19th president of Borussia Dortmund following a vote at the club’s annual general meeting. The long-serving CEO, who was the sole candidate for the presidency, received 59 percent of the votes cast in a hybrid voting process that included both in-person and online participation. Daniel Lorcher was elected vice-president with 71% of the votes, while the previous vice president, Silke Seidel, was voted in as treasurer with 61%. The new board has been elected for a three-year term.

Watzke’s election came at the end of the longest general meeting in the club’s almost 115-year history, concluding just after midnight. The lengthy process was partly due to technical issues with the electronic voting system, which was being used for the first time. A total of 1,951 members were present in the Westfalenhalle, with another 4,128 participating online out of the club’s total membership of 238,109.