Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin
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Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin (July 30, 1914 - April 25, 1999) was an Irish journalist and sports official, the sixth president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). He succeeded his father as Baron Killanin in the Peerage of Ireland in 1927.
Lord Killanin was born in London, a member of one of the fourteen families making up the Tribes of Galway. He was educated at Eton College and later Magdalene College, Cambridge. In the late 1930s, he began his career as a journalist, which was interrupted by World War II, in which he served as a volunteer.
In 1950, he became the head of the Olympic Council of Ireland, and became his country's representative in the IOC in 1952. He climbed up to senior vice-president in 1968, and was elected president of the IOC in 1972, following the Munich Olympics, which were overshadowed by the Munich Massacre.
During his presidency, the Olympic movement experienced a difficult period, dealing with the financial flop of the 1976 Montréal Olympics and the boycotts of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He resigned after the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and his position was taken over by Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Lord Killanin was also a director of many companies and dabbled in the film industry, collaborating with his lifelong friend, John Ford, on "The Quiet Man".
He died at his home in Dublin aged 84 and, following a funeral service in Spiddal, County Galway, he was buried in the family vault in the New Cemetery, Galway.
| Presidents of the IOC |
| Demetrius Vikelas | Pierre de Coubertin | Henri de Baillet-Latour | Sigfrid Edström | Avery Brundage | Lord Killanin | Juan Antonio Samaranch | Jacques Rogge |