II.

International Olympic Committee

The Olympic Games are administered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC was created in 1894 in Paris, France, as an independent committee selecting its own members. (To begin the process, however, Coubertin himself chose the first 15 members.) IOC members are officially considered to be representatives from the IOC to their own nations, not delegates from their own countries to the IOC. Most members are elected to the IOC after serving on the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) of their own countries.

The first IOC members were all from Europe or the Americas, with the exception of one from New Zealand. The committee elected its first Asian member in 1908 and its first African member in 1910. Currently, members from European and North American countries still account for much of the IOC membership. IOC members must retire at the end of the year in which they reach the age of 80, unless they were elected before 1966, in which case they can serve for life.

The IOC oversees such functions as determining the site of the Olympic Games, the establishment of worldwide Olympic policies, and the negotiation of Olympic television broadcast rights. The IOC works closely with the NOCs and with the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF—the international governing body for track and field), and other international sports federations (ISFs) to organize the Olympics. The ISFs are responsible for the international rules and regulations of the sports they govern.

The IOC president, who is chosen by IOC members, is assisted by an executive board, several vice presidents, and a number of IOC commissions. The IOC’s first president, Demetrius Vikélas of Greece (served 1894-1896), was succeeded by Coubertin himself (1896-1925). The other IOC presidents have been Count Henri de Baillet-Latour of Belgium (1925-1942), J. Sigfrid Edström of Sweden (1946-1952), Avery Brundage of the United States (1952-1972), Michael Morris, Lord Killanin, of Ireland (1972-1980), Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain (1980-2001), and Jacques Rogge (2001- ) of Belgium.