Juan Antonio Samaranch(1920-2010)
Samaranch comes from a wealthy industrial family. After attending a German school in Barcelona, Samaranch studied business administration in England and the United States. At the same time he received manager training. In the 1940s, Samaranch became a member of President Franco's "Movimiento Nacional", whose staunch supporter he remained until Franco's death in 1975. He found sporting interest in tennis, boxing and figure skating. He was active in roller hockey for Espanol Barcelona. As head of organization for the roller hockey World Cup tournaments in Barcelona in 1951 and 1954 and as a city councilor responsible for the sports department, he earned an early reputation as a sports official. In 1954, Samaranch became a member of the Spanish NOC before holding its chairmanship from 1967 to 1970.
As head of the mission, Samaranch took over the representative accompaniment of the Spanish Olympic team in 1956, 1960 and 1964. From 1962 he acted as a sports delegate for Catalonia, and in 1966 Samaranch was appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In his political career he was a member of the Spanish Parliament from 1967 and President of the Catalan House of Representatives from 1973. From 1968 to 1975 he was the IOC's chief of protocol. After Franco's death and the political upheaval that followed, he became ambassador to Moscow for four years in 1977. The rejection of the Western countries' Olympic boycott gave him good connections with the representatives of the Eastern Bloc, whereupon Antonio Samaranch was elected seventh President of the IOC in 1980, succeeding Lord Killanins.
This led to lasting changes in the Olympic movement, which moved far away from the ideological vision of the founder Pierre de Coubertin. Due to the increasing commercialization of the Olympic Games, Samaranch has repeatedly come under criticism. Under his leadership, amateur status for Olympic participants was abolished in 1988, the licensing of the Olympic rings and the sale of television rights turned the games into a mega-event, whose interests became increasingly politicized. At the beginning of the 1990s, the IOC had a billion US dollars at its disposal from advertising television revenue alone. In 1993, Samaranch was clearly confirmed in office by the IOC.
The introduction of Olympic Games every two years (alternating winter and summer games), at the suggestion of Samaranch, gave the IOC the ideal ability to plan the event and maximum added value from 1994 onwards. Another achievement of Samaranch is that the games have been held without a boycott since 1992. In July 2001, Juan Antonio Samaranch resigned from the office of IOC president. The Belgian Jacques Rogge was chosen as his successor at the 112th IOC General Assembly in Moscow. Despite his achievements as one of the most important sports officials, long after his term in office, criticism of his political past during the Franco dictatorship as well as nepotism and corruption in the IOC in the awarding of the Olympic Games and offices has not subsided.
He published his autobiography under the title "Memorias Olimpicas" (2002).
As head of the mission, Samaranch took over the representative accompaniment of the Spanish Olympic team in 1956, 1960 and 1964. From 1962 he acted as a sports delegate for Catalonia, and in 1966 Samaranch was appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In his political career he was a member of the Spanish Parliament from 1967 and President of the Catalan House of Representatives from 1973. From 1968 to 1975 he was the IOC's chief of protocol. After Franco's death and the political upheaval that followed, he became ambassador to Moscow for four years in 1977. The rejection of the Western countries' Olympic boycott gave him good connections with the representatives of the Eastern Bloc, whereupon Antonio Samaranch was elected seventh President of the IOC in 1980, succeeding Lord Killanins.
This led to lasting changes in the Olympic movement, which moved far away from the ideological vision of the founder Pierre de Coubertin. Due to the increasing commercialization of the Olympic Games, Samaranch has repeatedly come under criticism. Under his leadership, amateur status for Olympic participants was abolished in 1988, the licensing of the Olympic rings and the sale of television rights turned the games into a mega-event, whose interests became increasingly politicized. At the beginning of the 1990s, the IOC had a billion US dollars at its disposal from advertising television revenue alone. In 1993, Samaranch was clearly confirmed in office by the IOC.
The introduction of Olympic Games every two years (alternating winter and summer games), at the suggestion of Samaranch, gave the IOC the ideal ability to plan the event and maximum added value from 1994 onwards. Another achievement of Samaranch is that the games have been held without a boycott since 1992. In July 2001, Juan Antonio Samaranch resigned from the office of IOC president. The Belgian Jacques Rogge was chosen as his successor at the 112th IOC General Assembly in Moscow. Despite his achievements as one of the most important sports officials, long after his term in office, criticism of his political past during the Franco dictatorship as well as nepotism and corruption in the IOC in the awarding of the Olympic Games and offices has not subsided.
He published his autobiography under the title "Memorias Olimpicas" (2002).
