Henri de Baillet-Latour

De Baillet-Latour was elected as a member of the IOC in 1903. He was tasked with the organisation of sport in Belgium, and he co-founded the Belgian Olympic Committee in 1906.[1] He was responsible for coordinating Belgium's participation at the London Olympics in 1908 and the Stockholm Olympics in 1912.[1]

He was instrumental in securing the 1920 Summer Olympics for the Belgian city of Antwerp, and with only one year to prepare for the Games, he took on the responsibility of organizing the huge event amidst the devastation in Belgium following the First World War.[3] The 1920 Games turned out to be a huge success despite the short notice,[3] gaining him a great deal of respect among his IOC colleagues.[4]

When Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Movement, retired from the presidency in 1925 (becoming Honorary President), Henri de Baillet-Latour was elected as his successor.[3][4] He was re-elected for a second term as IOC President in June 1933[2] and held the office for seventeen years until his death in 1942.[4] As IOC President, he was devoted to preserving the traditional ideals and integrity of the Olympics,[3] as well as supporting the values of amateur sport globally, despite the increasing political and commercial pressures that were threatening the Olympic Movement.[4] He was determined, yet diplomatic and very well respected within the IOC.[3]

In June 1939, the IOC voted unanimously in favour of Germany organising the 1940 Winter Games, replacing Japan that had returned the right to organise the 1940 Games. De Baillet-Latour argued that the decision in favour of Nazi Germany, which had occupied the Czech rump state three months before, showed the IOC's independence of political influences.