Jacques Rogge

Jacques Rogge Count
8th President of the International Olympic Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 July 2001
Preceded by	Juan Antonio Samaranch
Personal details
Born	(1942-05-02) 2 May 1942 Ghent, Belgium
Spouse	(Countess) Anne Rogge
Children	2 sons
Alma mater	University of Ghent
Profession	Orthopedic surgeon Sports administrator

Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɔɣə] ; born 2 May 1942), is a Belgian sports bureaucrat. He is the eighth and current President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Life and career

Born in Ghent, Rogge is by profession an orthopaedic surgeon. Rogge was educated at the University of Ghent. Rogge 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 in 1992, and in 2002 elevated to the noble rank of Count by King Albert II of the Belgians. In his free time, Count Rogge is known to admire modern art and is an avid reader of historical and scientific literature.

President of the IOC

Count Rogge was elected as President of the IOC on 16 July 2001 at the 112th IOC Session in Moscow as the successor to the Marqués de Samaranch, who had previously led the IOC since 1980.

Under his leadership, the IOC aims to create more possibilities for developing countries to bid for and be host of 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 ever IOC President to stay in the Olympic village, thereby enjoying 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.

In October 2009 he was re-elected for a new term as President of the IOC. In 2013 he will not be eligible for a new term.

During the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Rogge delivered a commemoration of Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili, after his fatal accident while practising at the Whistler Sliding Center on February 12, 2010.

Controversies

For the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, Rogge pronounced in mid July 2008 that there would be no internet censorship by Government 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 had to retract this optimistic statement, announcing 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 Director of the Olympic Games, 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 failed to insist that China adhere to its prior assurances that the internet would not be censored.

Rogge commented that Usain Bolt's gestures of jubilation and excitement after winning the 100 meters in Beijing are "not the way we perceive being a champion," and also said "that he should show more respect for his competitors." In response to his comments, 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".

During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, there have been controversies surrounding Women's Ski jumping. Together with Boxing, ski jumping is the last remaining sport which still bars women from competing at the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has stated that the exclusion of women isn't discrimination; and, many other sports, including cricket (even the Twenty20-format) are precluded from competing. President Jacques Rogge has insisted that the decision "was made strictly on a technical basis, and absolutely not on gender grounds," but only following much criticism, including campaigning on the grounds of gender discrimination.

In 2011, a Forbes Magazine list of the 68 most powerful people in the world listed Jacques Rogge at #67.

See also

• Philip Craven, current President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

Notes

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