About Jacques Rogge Jacques Rogge, Count Rogge (born 2 May 1942) (Dutch pronunciation: ˈrɔɣə is a Belgian sports functionary. He is the eighth and current president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).Born in Ghent, Rogge is an orthopaedic surgeon by profession. Rogge was educated at the University of Ghent. He competed in yachting in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics, and played on the Belgian national rugby union team. Rogge served as president of the Belgian Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1992, and as president of the European Olympic Committees from 1989 to 2001. He became a member of the IOC in 1991 and joined its Executive Board in 1998. He was knighted, and later elevated to Count, by King Albert II of Belgium. In his free time, Rogge is known to admire modern art and is an avid reader of historical and scientific literature. Rogge was elected as president of the IOC on 16 July 2001 at the 112th IOC Session in Moscow as the successor to Juan Antonio Samaranch, who had led the IOC since 1980. Under his leadership, the IOC aims to create more possibilities for developing countries to bid for and host the Olympic Games. Rogge believes that this vision can be achieved in the not too distant future through government backing and new IOC policies that constrain the size, complexity and cost of hosting the Olympic Games. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Rogge became the first IOC President to stay in the Olympic village, to enjoy closer contact with the athletes. He is maried to Anne; they have two grown-up children. His son Philippe is the current delegation leader of the Belgian Olympic Committee.