Janez Kocijančič

Sports administrator and politician Janez Kocijančič served as the President of both the National Olympic Committee of Slovenia and the European Olympic Committees. After earning his master’s degree at the Ljubljana Faculty of Law in 1974 Kocijančič first served as the President of the Ski Association of Slovenia until 1984, before presiding over the Ski Association of Yugoslavia until 1988. With his work in the sport he also served as a member of the International Ski Organization (FIS) in the early 1980s, eventually becoming their Vice-President in 2010.

Kocijančič will best be remembered for serving six terms as the President of the Slovenian Olympic Committee from 1991 to 2014. During this time he became a member of the Executive Board of the European Olympic Committees (EOC). He served as the EOC’s Vice-President from 2013 to 2016 before being elected as the organisation’s President, remaining in the role until his death in June 2020. Kocijančič was posthumously awarded with the Olympic Order in Silver.