Killanin, Michael Morris (1915-1999)

English sports administrator, born in London. Killanin began his career in 1952 with the Irish Olympic Council, later renamed the Olympic Council of Ireland. His appointment came after internal bickering had seen two separate Irish teams entered for the London Games in 1948. By the mid-1960s Killanin's profile was such that he was elevated to vice-president of the International Olympic Council before eventually succeeding Avery Brundage as president in 1972. He spent eight years in office and resisted international pressure to cancel the 1980 games in Moscow after the withdrawal of the US team. Killanin also pushed for the return of China into the Olympic movement, which he lived to see.