International Olympic Committee Presidents

My last post highlighted the King of Sweden opening the 1912 Summer Olympic games and the stamps and cover I bought to illustrate that part of the Olympic event.

Today I want to highlight stamps picturing the International Olympic Committee presidents from the beginning of the Modern Olympic Games. There has always been an elected president of the International Olympic Committee since Pierre de Coubertin founded the Olympics in 1894.

San Marino issued a set of stamps commemorating the first seven presidents. While not as colorful or as interesting as the Olympic sports stamps, they are still stamps that have been issued that are part of the story of the Olympics.

1. Demetrius Vikelas

(1894–1896)

2. Pierre de Coubertin

(1896–1925)

3. Henri de Baillet-Latour

(1925–1942)

4. Sigfrid Edström

(1942–1952) 

5. Avery Brundage

(1952–1972)

6. Lord Killanin

(1972–1980)

7. Juan Antonio Samaranch

(1980–2001)

 
And here is a picture of the page I created to display them.

While Pierre de Coubertin founded the Modern Olympics he was originally the General Secretary of the first International Olympic Committee. Demetrius Vikelas was the first IOC president, but only served for two years. Pierre de Coubertin served from 1896 until 1925. Coubertin was later elected as honorary president of the IOC until he died in 1937.

IOC presidents I don't have stamps for are: Jacques Rogge who served from 2001 to 2013; and Thomas Bach the current IOC president who has served since 2013.