Allan was elected unanimously to the position at the Sheraton Grand Doha Resort and Convention Hotel, succeeding France's Jean-Luc Rougé.

The Briton served as competition manager for judo at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and was most recently IJF events director from 2017, sitting on the Executive Committee as part of her role.

Former world champion Rougé held the general secretary role since 2011, and is set to continue serving on the IJF Executive Committee.

He said it was a "natural transmission" for Allan to take over as general secretary.

"I am now 73 years old and I want to concentrate on judo and on what interests me the most, like the grades, the education and many more subjects," Rougé commented.

"It was time to pass on the baton.

"I am happy that I could serve our sport as general secretary and today I am happy to end that phase of my judo life."

Allan vowed to continue Rougé's work as the secretary general.

"I'm grateful to the British Judo Association and to UK Sport for having supported my candidature and I am thankful to all the voters from the National Federations for the trust they put in me to become the new IJF general secretary," she said.

"I am happy to be able to continue the fantastic work undertaken by Jean-Luc Rougé in the past years."

During her campaign, Allan promised to listen to National Federations' needs and desires, ensure the highest standards of transparency, integrity and democracy in IJF governance, and promote fair play, openness, integrity and trust.

British Judo chief executive Andrew Scoular welcomed Allan's election.

"We are absolutely delighted that Lisa has been appointed, she will be an extremely positive ambassador for British Judo and the sport as a whole," he said.

"I am really looking forward to working with Lisa in this role and offer her huge congratulations from everybody at British Judo."

The IJF Congress also re-elected the United Arab Emirates' Naser Al Tamimi as general treasurer, a position he has held since 2007, the same year Austria's Marius Vizer became President.

Vizer congratulated Allan and Al Tamimi on their elections.

"Naser has been a key person in the development of our federation for many years," he commented.

"A man of conviction, a gentlemen, he has helped the IJF to be in the good shape it is in today and has aided the development of our sport in the region.

"He was one of the initiators of the rapprochement between Israel and UAE for instance.

"I congratulate Mr Rougé for everything he gave to judo, Lisa Allan, for what she has already done and will do in the future for our sport, and Naser for his passionate commitment."

The Congress additionally approved the entry of IJF director general Marinescu on to the Executive Committee.

Marinescu has held the position since 2021, one year after he was elected as President of the International Esports Federation.

The IJF Congress was the first held since June 2021 in Hungary's capital Budapest, meaning it was the first since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Vizer's report included highlights such as the inaugural Olympic mixed team event in the Japanese capital, the World Championships in Uzbekistan's capital Tashkent last year where 25 countries medalled, plans for the Paris 2024 Olympics and various partnerships.

The provisional 2023-2024 IJF budget forecast a post-tax profit of more than $4.6 million (£3.7 million/€4.2 million) for 2024.

Reports were also heard from the continental unions and various Commissions at the Congress.

The Congress preceded the World Judo Championships in Doha due to start on Sunday (May 7) and run for eight days until May 14.