Nearly 81% of the company’s shareholders opposed Bond’s election as a director of the new company, the result of a merger between Glencore International and Xstrata.

Bond was previously chairman of Xstrata and earlier said he would resign once a new chairman was found after shareholders rejected a retention plan for Xstrata directors.

He opened the meeting in Zug overnight, but did not allow the resolution to elect him be put to shareholders.

“It is clear under resolution seven that I will not be re-elected as chairman,” Bond said.

“Therefore, I think the right thing for me to do is to pass the chair to Tony Haywood, who is the senior independent director and deputy chairman, to conduct the meeting.”

Haywood, the former chief executive of BP, has been appointed as interim chairman after being re-elected as a director with a 94% majority.

It was not just Bond that shareholders rebelled against.

Former Xstrata directors Con Fauconnier, Ian Strachan and Peter Hooley’s re-elections were also opposed by shareholders.

Sir Steve Robson resigned before the meeting.

Glencore said its nominations committee would meet today to start the process of seeking candidates for its board, as well as starting the search for a new chairman.