Alexander Ospelt from Liechtenstein received 65 votes; Eliasch received 64.
"I said earlier that no matter what, I'm a winner. Either I get my life back, or I win the election," Eliasch said after the election.
Swedish-born Eliasch, who has been a British citizen for many years, has been criticized by several major skiing nations such as Norway, Germany and Austria during his first term. He was snubbed by both Sweden and Britain and was forced to acquire Georgian citizenship in order to be nominated.
The criticism has been that Eliasch has been too autocratic, that there has been a lack of transparency and that FIS has spent too much money.
