biography
| name: |
Samaranch, Juan Antonio
|
pronunciation:
[samaranch]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1920– )
|
| biography:
| Sports administrator, born in Barcelona, NE Spain. He became a member of the 1956 Spanish Olympic Committee and later a member of the 1966 International Olympic Committee (IOC). In 1973 he was elected president of the Diputación de Barcelona and president of La Caixa in 1987. In 1980 he succeeded Lord Killanin as seventh president of the International Olympic Committee. He was responsible for introducing some of the major changes into the Games, such as allowing women to participate in all competitive sports, and for organizing the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. He received much criticism following allegations of corruption within the IOC in 1998–9 over the bids of various cities to host the Olympics, but he is also credited with ensuring the financial success of the IOC through sponsorship deals and television rights at competitive levels. On his retirement as president of the IOC in 2001, he was conferred with the title of honorary life president. |
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