Denis Oswald

Denis Oswald ( born May 9, 1947 in Neuchâtel ) is a Swiss sports official, a lawyer and former rowers. He is president of the International Rowing Federation FISA and member of the IOC.

Life and work

Denis Oswald took part in the Summer Olympic Games in 1968 in Mexico City, as a member of the Swiss quartet with coxswain he won the bronze medal. In Munich in 1972 and 1976 in Montreal, he was in the quadruple sculls and the coxed four each roller. With the quadruple sculls he reached for the World Rowing Championships in 1974 on the Rotsee near Lucerne in fourth place. In addition, 13 Swiss league titles, five of them in one.

Oswald studied law at the University of Neuchâtel, the University of Zurich and the University of Cambridge. In 1973 he was admitted to the bar in 1977, he received the doctorate. Professionally, he worked as a freelance lawyer, President of the Bar Association of the Canton of Neuchâtel, judge at the International Court of Sport and lecturer at the University of Basel.

After he had been Secretary General of the FISA during eleven years, he was elected its president in 1989. From 1976 to 1991 he was also a member of the appellation chamber of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation. In 1991 he was elected to the IOC, and since 2000 he is a member of the executive. He was a member of the Coordination Committee for the Olympic Summer Games in 2000 and 2004, since 2005 he chaired the Coordination Committee for the Olympic Summer Games in 2012.

In September 2013 Oswald ran along with five other competitors for the office of President of the International Olympic Committee. In the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, however, the German Thomas Bach was elected by 49 votes in the decisive second ballot to succeed Jacques Rogge. Oswald received only five votes.

Denis Oswald lives in Peseux. He is married and is the father of a child.