Tamás Aján

Tamás Aján (born January 12, 1939) was the President of the International Weightlifting Federation from 2000 to 2020 and was a member of the International Olympic Committee until 2010.[1]

Tamás Aján
Aján in Tehran - June 2016
International Weightlifting Federation
In office
2000 – 15 April 2020

Early life and career

Born in Gherla (Szamosújvár), Romania into an ethnic Hungarian family. Aján graduated from the Budapest University of Physical Education in 1964 with a Ph.D in physical education.[2] He had a varied career in the Department of Sports and Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, as well as a number of academic posts.

He has been the Secretary General of the Hungarian Olympic Committee from 1989 to 2005. From 1975 to 2000 he was Secretary General of the International Weightlifting Federation, and was the Federation's President from 2000 to 2020. As President, he was elected to the IOC in 2000. He also serves as a council member of the World Anti-Doping Agency.[2]

He is also Vice President of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).[2]

In 2010 he received the Olympic Order on February 28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, this is awarded to individuals for particularly distinguished contribution to the Olympic Movement.[1]

Corruption scandal

In January 2020, an undercover documentary aired on German TV which made serious allegations of financial malpractice and corruption of Anti-Doping Procedures against him. This led to Aján resigning as an IOC honorary member[3] and temporarily stepping aside as president for 90 days whilst an investigation, headed by professor Richard McLaren, was carried out. In a leaked email, it was alleged that Aján had made 'insults and implicit threats' to the then temporary interim-president Ursula Papandrea, including to have her arrested. He was also accused of taking part in conference calls, obstructing access to IWF bank accounts, overseeing a bank transfer, conducting “business as usual” with the IWF Secretariat in Budapest and interfering in the timing and venue of Board meetings all when he should not have done. On 15 April 2020, Aján resigned as President of the International Weightlifting Federation.[4][5]

On 4 June 2020, professor Richard McLaren's independent report was published. The report stated that Aján operated a 'culture of fear' in his pursuit of 'absolute control' of the IWF. The culture of fear was so strong that many IWF members refused to co-operate with the investigation and many of Aján's supporters had gained their positions in the IWF's Executive Board through vote-buying and bribes. The reports findings also concluded that Aján personally collected all anti-doping violation fines and that there was around $10.5 million unaccounted for in the IWF's accounts, as well as around 40 positive doping tests that were covered up, including two athletes who had won gold and silver medals at world championships. The president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev was also named in the report as it was claimed that he personally wrote to Aján to thank him for delaying the suspensions of Azerbaijani weightlifters before a competition in the countries capital, Baku. All Anti-Doping information was passed to the World Anti-Doping Agency for investigation.[6][7][8]

References
  1. "IWF President and IOC Honorary Member Tamas Ajan awarded Olympic Order". en.olympic.cn. 2010-03-02. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  2. "Mr Tamás Aján". Official Website of Olympic Movement. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  3. "IOC Statement on Tamás Aján - Olympic News". International Olympic Committee. 2020-03-03. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  4. "Tamás Aján resigns as President of IWF". www.insidethegames.biz. 2020-04-15. Retrieved 2020-04-16.
  5. "IWF Executive Board Accepts Resignation Of IWF President Tamas Ajan". International Weightlifting Federation. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  6. "IWF president Ajan 'corrupt'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  7. "Weightlifting corruption inquiry condemns behaviour of former President Aján". www.insidethegames.biz. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  8. "President of Azerbaijan thanked Aján for delaying doping suspensions, per report". www.insidethegames.biz. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
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