The International Olympic Committee and the entire Olympic Movement were deeply saddened to learn of the death today of Honourary President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Barcelona, aged 89.

President Samaranch was widely credited with renewing and fundamentally changing the landscape of the Olympic Movement.

Born in Barcelona in 1920, Samaranch pursued an outstanding career as diplomat and sports administrator before leading the IOC for 21 years.

Soon after his election, Samaranch worked towards the abolition of amateurism at the Olympic Games. Despite two boycotts in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles in 1984, Samaranch managed to maintain the quality of the Games and increase the number of participating countries. He was the man behind improving the financial health of the Olympic Movement, developing TV rights and sponsorship negotiations and strengthening Olympic Solidarity, the organ by which the IOC redistributes its revenue in order to ensure the training and participation of athletes at the Olympic Games.

An energetic man, he was responsible for the new IOC headquarters building in Vidy and for inaugurating The Olympic Museum in Lausanne. He will also be remembered for championing the representation of women in the IOC, overseeing the entry of the first women members in the 1980s. He was likewise responsible for setting up the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and for involving the athletes themselves in the decision-making of the IOC by creating the IOC Athletes’ Commission.

A diplomat, Samaranch started his career as Municipal Councillor responsible for sport in the City of Barcelona. He then took on the role of National Delegate for Physical Education and Sport before becoming President of the Barcelona Diputación. He was appointed Spanish Ambassador to the former Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of Mongolia from 1977 to 1980.

Before his election as IOC President in Moscow in 1980, Samaranch had a long career in sports administration. He was a member and subsequently President of the Spanish National Olympic Committee from 1967 to 1970; President of the Spanish Skating Federation; and Chef de Mission at the Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo in 1956, in Rome in 1960 and in Tokyo in 1964. He was himself a keen rink hockey player.

The IOC has expressed its deepest sympathy to the family of President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

Tribute | Jacques Rogge, IOC President
“I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic Family. I am personally deeply saddened by the death of the man who built up the Olympic Games of the modern era, a man who inspired me, and whose knowledge of sport was truly exceptional. Thanks to his extraordinary vision and talent, Samaranch was the architect of a strong and unified Olympic Movement. I can only pay tribute to his tremendous achievements and legacy, and praise his genuine devotion to the Olympic Movement and its values. We have lost a great man, a mentor and a friend who dedicated his long and fulfilled life to Olympism.”
 

Tribute | Mark Dzenick, Olympic Spirit Chairman
“President Samaranch was a great leader of the IOC and the Olympic Movement and will be deeply missed. He assumed the presidency of the IOC in 1980 at a time of great upheaval in the world, when the very existence of the IOC and the Olympic Games was far from certain, and led it through difficult and challenging times to the golden years the Movement enjoys today.
He had a vision for the role of the IOC on the world stage, as a force for peace and goodwill and used his considerable diplomatic skills to achieve great success for the Olympic Movement. His achievements are remarkable. He guided the IOC through extraordinary change, ensuring that the world's best athletes competed at the Olympic Games. He sought and achieved the financial independence of the entire Olympic Movement through strong and well-balanced television and sponsorship programs. He built the Olympic Museum to ensure the legacy of the IOC and the Olympic Games. He had a deep knowledge of the writings and philosophy of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC and the modern Olympic Games, and understood the power of sport to contribute to building a peaceful and better world. He reached out to the youth of the world to inspire through Olympic values and sport. He promoted the Olympic Spirit.
I am deeply saddened and touched by his passing, and privileged to have known and worked with him. The IOC, the Olympic Movement and indeed the world has lost a great man and leader who has had a profound impact on our world."
 

Tribute | Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics
“When Juan Antonio Samaranch began his IOC presidency, the Olympic movement was beset with immense financial problems and a string of devastating political boycotts. In the decade that followed, he proceeded to bring the Olympics to absolute preeminence among international sports events and build a solid economic base for the future. He was a towering figure in the world of sport and a diplomat of consummate skill who navigated through turmoil to reunite the Olympic Movement. But as large as he loomed on the world scene, Juan Antonio Samaranch was a great partner and an even better man. In the best of times he was a good friend and, more importantly, in the worst of times he was an even better one. He was a truly magnificent and thoughtful gentleman."