| Mr. Adolf Ogi, former President of Switzerland (1993–2000), was appointed in February 2001 to the task of assisting the Secretary-General in his efforts to reach out to the world of sport in order to promote understanding and support for the work and ideals of the United Nations.
The mandate of the Special Adviser is oriented not only towards the world of sport, sports industries and governments, but also towards the UN system. It includes the following duties within the UN: consulting with agencies of the United Nations system engaged in development, peace-making and peace-building, and identifying the tasks and programs that might benefit from the involvement of sports organizations, in order to make recommendations to the Secretary-General.
In the last three years, Mr. Adolf Ogi has represented the Secretary-General at numerous international sport events. He has called upon sport organizations and international federations as well as sport industries to support the United Nations in the achievement of their objectives. The responses have been positive and constructive. Development projects have been implemented and the role of sport for development further promoted and better understood.
Mr. Ogi has a degree in Business Studies from Switzerland and England.
Mr. Ogi has been involved in sport-related initiatives since joining the Swiss Skiing Federation, first as Technical Director and afterwards as Director from 1971 to 1981. He also took an active part in the "Fédération Internationale de Ski" from 1971 to 1983 and is currently Honorary President of "Swiss Olympics", the Swiss Olympic Committee. In 1981 he became a director and board member of Intersport Schweiz Holding AG. As a member of the Swiss Parliament and elected Federal Councilor from 1988 to 2000, Mr. Ogi was in charge of the Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sports between 1996 and 2000. |