Hein Verbruggen

Hein Verbruggen (born 21 June 1941 in Helmond) is a Dutch honorary member of the International Olympic Committee since 2008. Previously, he was a member of the IOC and Chairman of the Coordination Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing in 2008. He was president of the Union Cycliste Internationale from 1991 till 2005.

Verbruggen studied at the Nyenrode Business Universiteit. Afterwards, he became a sales manager. In 1970, when he was a sales manager at Mars, Incorporated, he convinced them to sponsor a cycling team, to get access to the Belgian market. In 1975, he became a member of the professional cycling committee of the Royal Dutch Cycling Union (KNWU).

In 1979, Verbruggen became a member of the board of the Fédération Internationale de Cyclisme Professionnel (FICP). He became vice-president in 1982, and president in 1984.

From 1991 to 2005, Verbruggen was president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). From 1996 on, he was also member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). During that time, Verbruggen combined the FICP (for professional cyclists) and the FIAC (for amateur cyclists) in the UCI. Because the Olympic organisation had the FIAC as partners, it had been impossible before then for professional cyclists to enter the Olympic Games, but from the 1996 Summer Olympics, professional athletes could compete. In his last year, he launched the UCI ProTour.

In 2005, Verbruggen became Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Later that year, Verbruggen resigned as president of the UCI, and became vice-president. He then stopped being a member of the IOC, but was reinstated during the 2006 Winter Olympics.

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