The FIE in 1913, and the bodies that came before and after it.

Founded in Paris, 29 November 1913

Olympedia records that the Federation Internationale d'Escrime was formed in Paris on 29 November 1913. The FIE's own About page gives Paris and 1913, says the federation is now based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and that the IOC recognises it as the world governing body of fencing. Wikipedia adds that the meeting was held in the conference rooms of the Automobile Club de France and that Albert Feyerick, president of the Belgian federation of fencing clubs, was elected the first president; those two details were not confirmed on an FIE page that could be opened.

Eight or nine founding nations

The Deutsche Biographie says the German fencing federation has belonged to the FIE since November 1913, which supports the nine-nation list that includes Germany. The FIE's own list could not be read, so the count stays disputed here.

Wikipedia records that the FIE's first congress, on 23 June 1914, admitted Austria, Denmark, Monaco, Romania, Russia, Switzerland and the United States. That rests on Wikipedia alone and is unconfirmed.

The rule book, 1914 to 2017

The FIE's historical note (article i.1) gives the life of its rule book:

How each weapon's own rules were written in 1914 is on how the three weapons developed.

The first championships

The FIE's note (i.5) says its Open World Championships were called European Championships until 1936. Wikipedia adds that the first was held in Paris in 1921 with men's epee individual as the only event, and that in 1936 the FIE congress opened the championships to all countries and recognised the earlier European Championships as World Championships; those details rest on Wikipedia alone. The same FIE note says the World Junior Championships rest on Congress decisions from Paris in 1949 onward, and the World Cadet Championships, individual only, on the Neuchatel Congress of 1998. When women's events joined is on women in fencing.

Presidents

Wikipedia lists the FIE's presidents as follows. It is a secondary source, and only the recent changes noted below the table were checked against FIE documents and a national federation's release.

An FIE news article records Usmanov's re-election by acclamation at the 2021 Elective Congress, his fourth term since 2008. The Swedish Fencing Federation reported that the Tashkent Congress elected him again on 30 November 2024 and that the Executive Committee then accepted his decision to suspend his duties and named Katsiadakis interim president. FIE Information Letter 7-25 records that Katsiadakis resigned on 24 April 2025 and that on 30 April 2025 the Executive Committee appointed Abdelmoneim ElHusseiny of Egypt interim President. The Congress of 22 November 2025 approved that appointment, and Information Letter 10-26 of 8 July 2026 is signed by him as Interim President.

The two accounts of 2024 to 2025 differ. Wikipedia's list shows Usmanov as president from 2024 to 2025, while the Swedish federation's release says that after his election he suspended his duties and Katsiadakis was named as interim president. No FIE document covering the interim of 2022 to 2024 or the months after the Tashkent Congress was found, so both versions are given.

How many members

The FIE's About page states 156 affiliated member federations, and Olympedia gives 156 as of January 2026. Wikipedia gives 155 national federations as of 2023, and British Fencing says over 150. The FIE Congress of 22 November 2025 expelled the Mexican federation, and whether the figure of 156 reflects that is unconfirmed. The FIE's dated decisions of 2025 and 2026 on athletes holding Russian or Belarusian passports are given on the 2026 World Championships.

The national bodies

Some national bodies are older than the FIE. Founding dates as each body or historian records them:

The two British rows are a disagreement: 1901 or 1902 for the Amateur Fencing Association, today's British Fencing.

The coaches' bodies in Britain

The British Academy of Fencing records that the London Academy of Arms was founded in 1902 with Egerton Castle as first president, was re-formed as the British Federation of Fencing Masters (1931 to 1948), and that a Ladies Professional Fencing Association existed from 1936 to 1948. The two merged in 1949 to form the British Academy of Fencing, whose first president, Leon Bertrand, was a founding member of the Academie d'Armes Internationale.

How the FIE and these bodies work today is on the FIE and national bodies.