Juan Antonio Samaranch - IOC Presidency

IOC Presidency

Samaranch was elected President of the IOC at the 83rd IOC Session, held in Moscow prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics – between 15 and 18 July 1980.

During his term, Samaranch made the Olympic Games financially healthy, with big television deals and sponsorships. Although the 1984 Summer Olympics were still boycotted by the Soviet bloc, the number of IOC participating member nations increased at every Games during Samaranch's presidency. Samaranch also wanted the best athletes to compete in the Olympics, which led to the gradual acceptance of professional athletes.

One achievement of Samaranch was the financial rescue of the IOC, which was in financial crisis in the 1970s. The games themselves were such a burden on host cities that it appeared that no host would be found for future Olympiads. Under Samaranch, the IOC revamped its sponsorship arrangements (choosing to go with global sponsors rather than allowing each national federation to take local ones), and new broadcasting deals, commercialising the Olympics and making them more economically viable.

He was awarded the 1990 Seoul Peace Prize.

It became a tradition for Samaranch, when giving the President's address at the close of each Summer Olympics, to praise the organizers at each Olympiad for putting on "the best ever" Games. He withheld this phrase only once, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where the organization had come under heavy criticism.

In the aftermath of a bribery scandal surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, an inquiry held in camera expelled several IOC members, but cleared Samaranch of wrongdoing. Samaranch set up a commission to investigate the corruption and introduced reform of the bid process as a result of the scandal.

In 2001, Samaranch did not apply for the presidency again. He was succeeded by Jacques Rogge. He then became Honorary President for Life of the International Olympic Committee. Samaranch served the second longest term as the head of the IOC, 21 years, the longest being that of Pierre de Coubertin (29 years). Following his retirement, Samaranch played a major role in Madrid's bid for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, though both were unsuccessful. In 1991, he was raised into the Spanish nobility by King Juan Carlos of Spain and given the hereditary title of Marqués de Samaranch (Marquis of Samaranch), together with the dignity Grande de España (English: Grandee of Spain), this in recognition of his contribution to the Olympic movement.