Ivan Slavkov

Ivan Slavkov (Bulgarian: Иван Славков) (11 May 1940, Sofia – 1 May 2011) was a Bulgarian sports boss linked to the Communist-era nomenklatura. He served as the President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) between 1982 and 2005 and was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) between 1987 and 2005.

During the Communist regime in Bulgaria, Slavkov married Lyudmila Zhivkova, daughter of Bulgaria's Communist leader Todor Zhivkov. Despite lack of qualifications, he was appointed head of the state-controlled Bulgarian Television in 1972, an example of the regime's growing practice of corruption and nepotism.

In 1982 Slavkov left Bulgarian television and became the President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.

After the collapse of Communism in Bulgaria, Slavkov (also known as "Bateto", meaning "the elder brother" in Bulgarian) was accused, but subsequently acquitted of several crimes including gross embezzlement of public funds from Sofia's unsuccessful bid for the 1994 Winter Olympics.

In 2000 Slavkov was investigated by the IOC after it was alleged he offered support to a businessman who went on to try and solicit bribes from Cape Town when they were bidding to stage the 2004 Games. According to Chris Ball, who led the Cape Town bid, the businessman had a letter signed by Slavkov in his capacity as President of the Bulgarian NOC and this man then went on to suggest that he could deliver IOC votes in return for money. Cape Town refused to pay bribes and reported the incident to the IOC. In 2000 the IOC Ethics Commission decided "after an exhaustive examination of the facts and elements, not to pursue the examination of the Slavkov affair."

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