Giorgio Vaccaro

Giorgio Vaccaro served in numerous administrative posts in Italian sports. He was the first President of the Italian Rugby Federation (1928-29), was Secretary-General of CONI (Italian Olympic Committee) (1933-39), and was President of the Italian federations for football (1933-42) and hunting (1936-39).

Vaccaro’s activities during World War II were controversial and after the war he was accused by other Italian sporting authorities of being a Fascist supporter. Co-opted onto the IOC in 1939, a group within CONI contacted IOC President J. Sigfrid Edström in 1948, asking that Vaccaro be removed from the IOC. Edström eventually wrote requesting his resignation, but Vaccaro refused. The 1949 IOC Session took up this dilemma and referred the matter to the Executive Committee which in 1950 declared Vaccaro decommissioned, although he did not resign from the IOC until September 1957. After World War II Vaccaro removed to Argentina although he eventually returned to Italy, where he became President of the football club, Lazio.