Sam Ramsamy OIS (born 27 January 1938) is an educator, activist and sports administrator from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Career

Ramsamy was a physical education lecturer and a primary school teacher. In the 1980s, he was a high-profile anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

campaigner in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and was chairman of the South Africa non-racial Olympic Committee (SAN-ROC) during the apartheid years from 1976 to 1990, campaigning against discrimination in sport and against the participation of South Africa's white-only teams in international sporting events. He returned to South Africa upon the lifting of ban on the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

and became the President of South Africa's official

National Olympic Committee A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

from 1991. He led the first non-racial South African team to the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. He has served with the

International Swimming Federation FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

bureau and is currently also a vice-president and official

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

spokesman at all official events. Ramsamy was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

and sat on their Commission evaluating the bids for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He was a member of the IOC co-ordination committee for the 2012 London Games. Ramsamy ceased to be a member at the end of 2018 when as per protocol he retired after turning 80. In May 2011, following the announcement that South Africa will not bid for the

2020 Olympic Games The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

, Ramsamy told Olympic news source ''

Around the Rings Around the Rings (ATR) is an Internet-based publication covering the business and politics of the Olympic Movement, as well as a wide array of issues in international sports. ATR had its beginnings in the late 1980s when Atlanta was bidding for ...

'' that he was "disappointed" in the government's decision, but he is "certain" they will bid for 2024.

References

External links

IOC member profile
1938 births Living people International Olympic Committee members South African sports executives and administrators Sportspeople from Durban Recipients of the Order of Ikhamanga {{2012-Olympic-stub