Jacques Rogge

Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge, KCMG (French: [ʒɑk ʁɔ.ge]; Dutch: [ˈrɔɣə]; born 2 May 1942) is a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, the IOC announced that Rogge would become their Honorary President.

Life and career

Born in Ghent, Belgium, under the Nazi-occupation, Rogge is by profession an orthopedic surgeon and was educated at the Jesuit private school Sint-Barbaracollege and the University of Ghent.

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 made a Count in the Belgian nobility by King Albert II. On 25 February 2014, The Princess Royal appointed him as an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) at Buckingham Palace for his years of service to the Olympics and in particular for his work on the London 2012 Olympic Games.