Sinan Erdem (May 9, 1927 – July 23, 2003) was a Turkish

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player and long-standing head of the

Turkish Olympic Committee Turkish National Olympic Committee (TNOC) ( tr, Türkiye Milli Olimpiyat Komitesi (TMOK)) is the governing Olympic body of Turkey. It is based in Istanbul. History As one of the oldest National Olympic Committees in the world, TNOC was founded o ...

Biography

He was born on May 9, 1927 in

Manisa Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province. Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port ci ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. After finishing the high school in

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

, he was educated in Law at Istanbul University. Sinan started to play volleyball and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

already in 1943. He became a professional player in 1949, and transferred in 1951 to the volleyball team of Galatasaray S.K. He played 12 times in the Turkey national team and became its captain. After leaving the active sport, he served as the coach of the national volleyball team. Between 1957 and 1967, Sinan Erdem served as the secretary general of the

Turkish Volleyball Federation The Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) (in Turkish: ''Türkiye Voleybol Federasyonu'') is the governing body of volleyball and beach volleyball in Turkey. Formed in 1958, it is based in Ankara. The TVF is a member of the International Volleyball ...

. A member of the

International Volleyball Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(FIVB) since 1966, he served as the head of the organization committee of FIVB between 1972 and 1984. He was the deputy secretary general of the Turkish National Olympic Committee (TMOK) since 1975, before serving as the secretary general from 1982 to 1989. In 1989, Sinan Erdem was appointed chairman of the TMOK, a position he had until his death. He was elected to the board of directors of the Islamic Games Confederation in 1982, the Mediterranean Games and 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 ...

(IOC) in 1988. During the Olympic games in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and in Sydney, he served as a member of the IOC. He died of liver cancer on July 23, 2003. He was succeeded by his wife Süheyla, his son Ziya and his daughter Zeynep. Erdem's greatest ideal was, Turkey and

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

host once the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

. Turkey's biggest sport arena

Sinan Erdem Dome The Sinan Erdem Dome (), formerly known as the Ataköy Dome, is a multi-purpose indoor arena that is located in Ataköy, Bakırköy, Istanbul on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. It has a seating capacity of 22,500 for concerts. For the sp ...

is named in his commemoration.

Honorary doctorates

* 1998 -

Anadolu University Anadolu University ( tr, Anadolu Üniversitesi) is a public university in Eskişehir, Turkey. The university is known for its success in verbal fields such as history and communication. Its Faculty of Communication Sciences is sometimes considered ...

* 1999 -

Marmara University Marmara University ( Turkish: ''Marmara Üniversitesi'') is a public university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university is named after the Sea of Marmara and was founded as a university in 1982. However, it was created in 1883 under the name of ''H ...

Awards

* Golden Order of the Ministry of the Sports of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

* Loyalty Award of the International Olympic Committee * Order of Japan awarded by

Emperor Akihito of Japan is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 7 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. He presided over the Heisei era, ''Heisei'' being an expression of achieving peace worldwide. Bor ...

* Order of France by the President of France

References

His biography
1927 births 2003 deaths Sportspeople from Manisa Deaths from liver cancer International Olympic Committee members Turkish men's volleyball players Galatasaray S.K. (men's volleyball) players Galatasaray High School alumni Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Turkish referees and umpires Turkish volleyball coaches 20th-century Turkish people {{Turkey-volleyball-bio-stub