Italian Soccer Federation (FIGC) chief Giancarlo Abete was elected Wednesday to the executive committee of European soccer's ruling body UEFA.
Abete got the second-highest number of votes in the election of nine members behind German Soccer Federation chief Theo Zwanziger.
The FIGC chief, 58, replaced former FIGC head Franco Carraro who did not stand for re-election after his four-year term.
Abete will serve for the next four years, until 2013.
FIGC said on its site that the election of Abete represented ''a very significant personal success in the international field too,'' after Abete's re-election as FIGC president earlier this week.
Abete was re-elected unopposed as head of FIGC on Monday.
He took over the FIGC helm two years ago, a year after the 2006 Calciopoli match-fixing scandal, and is aiming to steer Italian soccer through the recession while making a bid for Euro 2016.
The former Christian Democrat MP, a non-executive print and publishing company director, has been credited with continuing a 'moralisation' drive ensuing from Calciopoli.
He was also praised for being close to the Azzurri during the immediate post-Calciopoli storm as they rallied to pick up Italy's fourth World Cup trophy in Germany.
