# IHF Congress

The IHF Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Handball Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Handball), commonly known by the acronym IHF. IHF is the international governing body of handball, beach handball and wheelchair handball.
The congress may be ordinary or extraordinary. Ordinary congress shall place every two years (odd years) after the IHF World Men's Handball Championship. Each congress shall determine the date and place of the following ordinary congress. IHF bodies including the President, IHF Council and IHF Executive Committee shall be elected every four years at the congress taking place the year after the Summer Olympic Games.
Each of the 204 members of IHF has one vote in the congress. The members of IHF can propose candidates for the presidency of IHF and for IHF Council. The IHF Presidential election takes place at the congress in the year following the Summer Olympic Games.
The extraordinary congress shall be convened by the IHF Council upon the written request of a simple majority of the member federations or Council members. Extraordinary congress must be convened within three months of the receipt of the request.

## History

The IHF congress has been held since 1946. Before 31st Ordinary Congress 2007 in Madrid (Spain), the congresses were held in the even years.
IHF Presidential elections have taken place at every congress until the 14th IHF Congress 1972 in Nuremberg, West Germany, where the delegates decided to vote the elections to be held every four years in the Olympic rhythm.

## List of congresses

| Congress Number | Year | City | Member Federations Attending | Total No. of Member Federations |
| 1st | 1946 | Copenhagen | 8 | 14 |
| 2nd | 1948 | Paris | 6 | 18 |
| 1st Extraordinary Congress | 1948 | Paris | 14 | 18 |
| 3rd | 1950 | Vienna | 13 | 21 |
| 4th | 1952 | Saarbrücken | 16 | 22 |
| 5th | 1954 | Opatija | 15 | 25 |
| 6th | 1956 | Stockholm | 18 | 26 |
| 7th | 1958 | Garmisch-Partenkirchen | 17 | 27 |
| 8th | 1960 | Liège | 21 | 30 |
| 9th | 1962 | Madrid | 24 | 34 |
| 10th | 1964 | Budapest | 27 | 38 |
| 11th | 1966 | Copenhagen | 26 | 39 |
| 12th | 1968 | Amsterdam | 28 | 41 |
| 13th | 1970 | Madrid | 36 | 54 |
| 14th | 1972 | Nuremberg | 43 | 54 |
| 15th | 1974 | Jesolo | 43 | 65 |
| 16th | 1976 | Estoril | 41 | 68 |
| 17th | 1978 | Reykjavik | 43 | 74 |
| 18th | 1980 | Moscow | 52 | 80 |
| 19th | 1982 | London | 53 | 86 |
| 20th | 1984 | San Diego | 48 | 95 |
| 21st | 1986 | Dakar | 49 | 98 |
| 22nd | 1988 | Seoul | 69 | 101 |
| 23rd | 1990 | Madeira | 47 | 106 |
| 24th | 1992 | Barcelona | 62 | 123 |
| 25th | 1994 | Noordwijk | 59 | 133 |
| 26th | 1996 | Hilton Head Island | 79 | 138 |
| 27th | 1998 | Yamoussoukro | 62 | 143 |
| 28th | 2000 | Estoril | 122 | 146 |
| 29th | 2002 | Saint Petersburg | 92 | 147 |
| 2nd Extraordinary Congress | 2003 | Basel | 67 | 147 |
| 30th | 2004 | El Gouna | 134 | 150 |
| 31st | 2007 | Madrid | 120 | 159 |
| 32nd | 2009 | Cairo | 139 | 171 |
| 3rd Extraordinary Congress | 2010 | Rome | Cancelled due to eruptions in Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. | 171 |
| 33rd | 2011 | Marrakech | 109 | 181 |
| 34th | 2013 | Doha | 163 | 192 |
| 35th | 2015 | Sochi | 141 | 198 |
| 4th Extraordinary Congress | 2015 | Sochi | 124 | 198 |
| 36th | 2017 | Antalya | 152 | 201 |
| 5th Extraordinary Congress | 2019 | Gothenburg | 146 | 201 |
| 37th | 2019 | Gothenburg | 151 | 201 |
| 38th | 2021 | It was held through videoconferencing at IHF Head Office in Basel (SUI) due to COVID-19 pandemic. It was previously scheduled to be held in Antalya (TUR). | Future event | 201 |
| 39th | 2023 | Katowice | Future event | 201 |

## Presidential elections

Following table shows the results of election of the President of International Handball Federation in recent decades.
Election of the President of International Handball Federation :
| Year | Venue | Candidate 1 | Candidate 2 |
| 2000 | Estoril | Hassan Moustafa 103 / 122 | Erwin Lanc Withdrew before election |
| 2004 | El Gouna | Hassan Moustafa 85 / 134 | Staffan Holmqvist 46 / 134 |
| 2009 | Cairo | Hassan Moustafa 115 / 142 | Jean Kaiser 25 / 142 |
| 2013 | Doha | Hassan Moustafa 150 / 157 | Unopposed |
| 2017 | Antalya | Hassan Moustafa 104 / 117 | Unopposed |
| 2021 | Antalya | Hassan Moustafa 135 / 151 | Unopposed |