Raoul Branco

Biographical information

RolesAdministrator
SexMale
Full nameJoseph "Raoul"•Da Silva Paranhos de Rio Branco
Used nameRaoul•Branco
Born20 February 1873 in Paris IXe, Paris (FRA)
Died1 January 1938 in Coppet, Vaud (SUI)
NOC Brazil

Biography

Raul Branco was a career diplomat who was posted to Washington, DC in 1895, although all of his later appointments were in Europe. He was Brazilian Minister in Berne, Switzerland from 1912-34 and was his country’s representative at the League of Nations from 1920-34. During his time in Switzerland he met Pierre de Coubertin and was co-opted as an IOC Member in 1913. Branco helped form the first Brazilian Olympic team that competed at the 1920 Olympics. De Coubertin appointed Branco to a four-member commission, including himself, Enrique Dorn, and Pedro Jaime de Matheu, to study the propagation of the Olympic Movement in South America. Branco settled in Switzerland after his retirement, and resigned from the IOC at the end of 1937, just before his death.

Organization roles

Role Organization Tenure NOC As
Member International Olympic Committee 1913—1938 BRA Raoul Branco