René Fasel  Close Biography
René Fasel was elected IIHF President in June 1994 at the Congress in Venice. The dentist, who was born on 6 February 1950 in Fribourg, Switzerland played ice hockey, starting as an amateur player advancing to international referee and then to an official in various functions. René Fasel played for HC Fribourg in the amateur division and in the national league B.
He was re-elected for a third term as IIHF President at the IIHF General Congress in Marbella, Spain in June 2003. As a referee, he went up to the top division and officiated 37 international games. In 1985, the dentist with the gift for languages, became the key figure as president of the Swiss Association and in 1986 he joined the leadership of the world federation after his election as IIHF Council member. René Fasel was the chairman in both the Referee and the Marketing Committees of the IIHF. At home, the honorary member of HC Fribourg resigned from all his functions in order to fully devote himself to his international duties.
When René Fasel became Dr. Sabetzki's successor as IIHF President, the world federation steeped in tradition entered a new era. The new President was anxious to establish a closer contact with the professional organizations in North America and consolidated the relations between IIHF and NHL. After all, it is thanks to René Fasel's endeavours that in 1998 the NHL top professional players competed for the first time at the Olympic Games in Nagano.
IOC Member René Fasel
In June 1995, René Fasel was appointed, as the very first ice hockey representative in history, to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Consequently, the IIHF President raised the stature of the ice hockey sport enormously. The integration of In-Line Hockey into the IIHF and the foundation of the European Hockey League were some long-sighted projects that were successfully realized during Fasel's presidency. In 1997, René Fasel was commissioned by the IOC to compile a study on the dental treatment of Olympic athletes at the university of Barcelona.
Most recently, Fasel was named the chairman of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Co-ordination Committee. In 2004, Fasel was given the prestigious Legion of Honour Award which is the highest award given by the French Republic for outstanding service to France, regardless of the nationality of the recipient. Also in 2004, Fasel was awarded the Ukrainian VIZHIBU prize for significant contribution to the development and popularisation of ice hockey in the world.
By the prestigious Sport Intern Newsletter, Fasel was listed as the 13th most influential sports personality of 2003.
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Biography
