Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Bach (born 29 December 1953 in Würzburg, West Germany) is a German lawyer and former Olympic fencer. Bach is the ninth and current President of the International Olympic Committee, and a former member of the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund Executive Board.
Fencing career
Bach is a former foil fencer who competed for West Germany. He won a team gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics, as well as a silver, a gold and a bronze team medals at the 1973, 1977 and 1979 world championships, respectively.
Career
Thomas Bach was born in Würzburg in 1953. He grew up in Tauberbischofsheim, where he lived with his parents until 1977. Bach earned a doctor of law (Dr. iur. utr.) degree in 1983 from the University of Würzburg.
DOSB presidency
Bach served as the President of the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund (DOSB), prior to becoming President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He resigned as the head of the DOSB on 16 September 2013, having served as President since 2006. He was replaced by Alfons Hörmann, and remained a member of the DOSB Executive Board. Additionally, he resigned as the head of Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Bach will however continue to serve as the head of Michael Weinig AG Company, a company in the industrial woodworking machinery industry that has its headquarters in Bach's hometown of Tauberbischofsheim, Germany
Bach headed Munich's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. In the host city election, Munich secured 25 votes as Pyeongchang was elected as host city with 63 votes.
IOC presidency
On 9 May 2013, Bach confirmed that he would run for President of the International Olympic Committee.
Bach was elected to an eight-year term as IOC President at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires on 10 September 2013. He secured 49 votes in the final round of voting, giving him the majority needed to be elected. He succeeds Jacques Rogge who served as IOC President from 2001 to 2013. Bach will be eligible to run for one additional four-year term at the 133rd IOC Session in 2021 until 2025.
Bach's successful election came against five other candidates, Sergey Bubka, Richard Carrión, Ng Ser Miang, Denis Oswald and Wu Ching-Kuo. The result of the election was as follows:
| Election of the 9th IOC President | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 |
 Thomas Bach | 43 | 49 |
 Sergey Bubka | 8 | 4 |
 Richard Carrión | 23 | 29 |
 Ng Ser Miang | 6 | 6 |
 Denis Oswald | 7 | 5 |
 Wu Ching-kuo | 6 | — |
Following his election as IOC President, Bach stated that he wished to change the Olympic bidding process and make sustainable development a priority. He stated that he feels that the current bidding process asks "too much, too early". The first bidding process over which he presided as President was the bidding process for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Bids were due in November 2013 and the host city, Beijing, was elected at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July 2015.
Bach officially moved into the IOC presidential office at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 17 September 2013, a week after being elected President. He speaks fluent French, English, Spanish and German.
During the bidding process for the 2024 Summer Olympics, President Bach proposed a joint awarding of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics after several bidders withdrew. The IOC later approved a plan to award the 2024 Olympics to Paris with Los Angeles securing the right to host the 2028 Olympics. President Bach will preside over the election of Paris and Los Angeles at the 131st IOC Session in Lima.
Honours
- Doctorate honoris causa from the Universidad Católica de Murcia.
- Grand cordon de l'Ordre national du Mérite sportif (Grand Cordon of the National Order of Sports Merit) from Tunisia on 12 March 2016.
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Tsukuba.