The 49-year old Lacotte will succeed Francois Carrard as IOC director general, who is leaving the post to become a part-time legal adviser for the Olympic committee.
Lacotte most recently served as a top planner for the Swiss Ministry of Defense having also worked with the forerunner to the Swiss Sports Association and also as a technical official for ski competitions in Switzerland.
Lacotte will go to Prague for IOC meetings next week where he will be introduced to the members before travelling to Lausanne to meet the headquarters staff to begin work.
The search for a replacement for Carrard began in early February when he chose not to take the job on a full-time basis, despite that being the preference of IOC president Jacques Rogge.
The International Olympic Committee has named Swiss government official Urs Lacotte as its new director general.
