Juan Antonio Samaranch Torelló, Marquess of Samaranch (born 17 July 1920 – 21 April 2010) was a Spanish sports official who served as the 7th President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1980 to 2001.

Samaranch, born into a wealthy family in Barcelona, studied commerce at IESE Business School in Barcelona. He had been the chef de mission of the Spanish team at a number of Olympic events, before he was appointed Government Secretary for Sports by Spanish Head of State Francisco Franco in 1967, also becoming the president of the Spanish National Olympic Committee and a member of the IOC. Samaranch was a prominent figure in the last years of Franco's regime. He was vice-president of the IOC from 1974 and 1978, and he was appointed Spanish ambassador to the Soviet Union and Mongolia from 1977 to 1980. In 1991, because of his efforts in support of the Olympic movement, he was given a title of Marqués (Marquess) de Samaranch by the King of Spain.

Samaranch was elected President of the IOC at the 83rd IOC Session in Moscow, that was held prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics - between 15 July and 18 July 1980.

During his term, Samaranch managed to make the Olympic movement financially healthy, with big television deals and sponsorships. Although the 1984 Summer Olympics were still boycotted by the Eastern bloc, the number of nations with a membership of the IOC and participating increased at every Games during Samaranch's presidency. Samaranch also wanted the best athletes to compete in the Olympics, which led to the gradual acceptance of professional athletes.

One achievement of Samaranch has undoubtedly[citation needed] been the financial rescue of the IOC, which was in financial crisis in the 1970s. The games themselves were such a burden on host cities that it appeared that no host would be found for future Olympiads. Under Samaranch, the IOC revamped its sponsorship arrangements (choosing to go with global sponsors rather than allowing each national federation to take local ones), and new broadcasting deals which brought in much money.

It became a tradition for Samaranch, when giving the President's address at the close of each Summer Olympics, to praise the organisers at each Olympiad for putting on "the best ever" Games. He withheld this phrase only once, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where the organisation had come under heavy criticism.

薩馬蘭奇出身于西班牙巴塞羅那一個經營紡織業(yè)的富裕家庭，畢業(yè)于德語學院和巴塞羅那高級商業(yè)研究院，精通西班牙語、法語、英語、俄語及德語。他父親給他所灌輸的對體育的熱情給他帶來一系列的影響，引導他在體育組織方面承擔起責任。他曾熱衷足球、拳擊，特別是輪滑和冰球運動，也正式成為一名冰球運動員。退役后任西班牙國家冰球隊教練，1951年起任西班牙冰球聯合會會長。在工作中他給人留下了深刻印象，擔任國家滑冰和輪滑冰球協(xié)會主席期間帶隊參加了世界錦標賽。年輕時組織過旱冰球隊，后創(chuàng)立旱冰球協(xié)會并任主席。曾任大學經濟學教授、銀行董事、巴塞羅那議長等職，參與組織“卡塔盧尼亞團結黨”；亦曾于1977年被委任為西班牙駐蘇聯大使，1991年被西班牙國王授予侯爵爵位。

1954年起任西班牙奧林匹克委員會委員。
1966年，薩馬蘭奇獲選為國際奧委會委員，并從1974年起連續(xù)擔任了禮賓官、執(zhí)委、副主席、主席。就這樣，薩馬蘭奇“從內部”了解了國際奧委會所有級別的體育機構。
1967年——1970年任西班牙奧委會主席。
1974年——1978年擔任國際奧委會副主席。

1980年在蘇聯莫斯科舉行的國際奧委會第83次全會上獲選為國際奧委會主席，接替愛爾蘭的邁克爾·莫里斯·基拉寧勛爵，一直在任至2001年7月退休。退休后擔任國際奧委會終身名譽主席，及瑞士洛桑奧林匹克博物館主席職務。

薩馬蘭奇退休前的最大心愿，是希望奧運會能在中國舉行。2001年7月，北京成功取得2008 年夏季奧林匹克運動會的主辦權，為他完成心愿。

2001年7月16日在莫斯科舉行的國際奧委會第112次全會上正式退休，隨即被授予奧林匹克金質勛章，并接受“國際奧林匹克委員會終身榮譽主席”稱號。在此次全會開幕式上，俄羅斯總統(tǒng)弗拉基米爾·普京授予薩馬蘭奇“榮譽勛章”。

薩馬蘭奇是一名公開的主業(yè)會會員。他也是IESE Business School的著名畢業(yè)生。

年輕時他風流倜儻，佳麗環(huán)繞；22歲步入商界不久，他就成為巴塞羅那一家著名紡織企業(yè)的總經理；他是一個銀行家，是世界許多知名企業(yè)董事會的成員；他曾是西班牙舉足輕重的政治風云人物，擔任過巴塞羅那市議會議長、西班牙體委主任和西班牙駐蘇大使等重要職務；在他擔任主席期間。國際奧委會成為全球成員最多的國際組織，奧運會也走出低谷，火暴興盛，奧運賽場更是變得異彩紛呈；更主要的是，他是一個不折不扣的改革家，體育商業(yè)化、奧運職業(yè)化等都是他的首創(chuàng)……

薩馬蘭奇在國際奧委會主席的位置上已經坐了17個年頭，其間經歷了難以數計的曲折和磨難，但他始終是國際體壇一面不倒的旗幟，沒有人能夠替代他的位置。如今薩馬蘭奇已年屆古稀，但他在國際奧委會的地位仍然穩(wěn)如磐石。1997年3月5日，薩馬蘭奇欣然接受國際奧委會執(zhí)委會的請求，再次連任一屆國際奧委會主席。為此，國際奧委會也再次修改主席退休年齡，由75歲提高到80歲……