Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge (born 2 May 1942) ( )
is a Belgian sports functionary.
He is the eighth and current president of
the International Olympic Committee
(IOC).
Biography
Born in
Ghent
, Rogge is an orthopaedic surgeon by profession.
Rogge was
educated at the University of Ghent
. He competed in
yachting in the
1968,
1972 and
1976 Summer Olympics, and played on the
Belgian national rugby
union team. Rogge served as president of the
Belgian Olympic Committee from
1989 to 1992, and as president of the
European Olympic Committees from
1989 to 2001. He became a member of the IOC in 1991 and joined its
Executive
Board in 1998. He was
knighted,
and later elevated to
Count, by King
Albert II of Belgium. In his free time,
Rogge is known to admire modern art and is an avid reader of
historical and scientific literature.
Rogge was elected as president of the IOC on 16 July 2001 at the
112th
IOC Session in Moscow as the
successor to
Juan Antonio
Samaranch, who had led the IOC since 1980.
Under his leadership, the IOC aims to create more possibilities for
developing countries to bid for and host the Olympic Games. Rogge
believes that this vision can be achieved in the not too distant
future through government backing and new IOC policies that
constrain the size, complexity and cost of hosting the Olympic
Games.
At the
2002 Winter Olympics in
Salt Lake
City
, Rogge became the first IOC President to stay in
the Olympic village, to enjoy closer contact with the
athletes.
He is married to Anne; they have two grown-up children. His son
Philippe is the current delegation leader of the
Belgian Olympic Committee.
Controversies
For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Rogge announced in
mid-July 2008 that there would be no Internet censorship by the
mainland authorities: "for the first time, foreign media will be
able to report freely and publish their work freely in China. "
However, by 30 July 2008, IOC spokesman
Kevan Gosper announced that the Internet would
indeed be censored for journalists. Gosper, who said he had not
heard about this, suggested that high IOC officials (probably
including the Dutch
Hein Verbruggen
and IOC French director-general
Gilbert
Felli, and most likely with Rogge's knowledge) had made a
secret deal with Chinese officials to allow the censorship, without
the knowledge of either the press or most members of the IOC. Rogge
later denied that any such meeting had taken place, but did not
insist that China adhere to its prior assurances that the Internet
would not be censored.
Rogge has been criticized for rebuking
Usain
Bolt's jubilation after winning multiple track and field events
in Beijing. Yahoo Sports columnist, Dan Wetzel, who covered the
Games described him as "...a classic stiff-collared bureaucrat,"
and further contended that "[the IOC] has made billions off
athletes such as Bolt for years, yet he has to find someone to pick
on." In an interview with Irish Times' reporter Ian O'Riordan,
Rogge clarified, "Maybe there was a little bit of a
misunderstanding. […] What he does before or after the race I have
no problem with. I just thought that his gesticulation during the
race was maybe a little disrespectful."
Rogge was also criticized by the Greek society for reportedly
telling the President of the
Hellenic Olympic Committee
Minos Kyriakou that "Greece won the
gold medal in doping" (referring to the disqualification of several
Greek athletes due to
use of performance
enhancing drugs), however authenticity of this alleged quote
was denied by Kyriakou.. In October 2009 he is re-elected for a new
term as President of the IOC. In 2013 he is not eligible for a new
term.
Notes
- "2007 impressions", Het Laatste Nieuws, 31 December
2007
- IOC Re-elects President Jacques Rogge
-
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/currentaffairs/region/asiapacific/080730-IOC-Web_Censorship
-
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKf6TZUVV5O0svemHyOqBT1MvnxQD928TKH8B
-
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24110428-2702,00.html
- Sports Illustrated, 2008
- "Beijing Olympics’ winners and losers", Yahoo
Sports!, 24 August, 2008