Günther Sabetzki (4 June 1915 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

– 21 June 2000) was a German

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

for several

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

leagues and organizations. Sabetzki was one of the founding members of the German Ice Hockey Federation in 1963. He would become the organization's first co-president along with Ludwig Zametzer. In 1966 he was elected as a member of the

International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...

, an organization he would lead as president, from 1975 to 1994. While president of the IIHF, he was instrumental in bridging the gap between European and North American hockey powers, and helped bring

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

back into the Olympic fold in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

. In 1982, Sabetzki formed the first German women's hockey league. It was formed in North Rhine-Westphalia. During his tenure as IIHF president, membership in the IIHF rose from 31 countries to 50. He was also responsible for overseeing the punishments following the Punch-up in Piestany.

Awards and honors

Sabetzki was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1995, and into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.

References

External links

* 1915 births 2000 deaths Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German ice hockey executives Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Olympic Order Sportspeople from Düsseldorf International Ice Hockey Federation executives IIHF Hall of Fame inductees {{Germany-icehockey-bio-stub