Luxembourg · 25th anniversary of Grand Duke Henri’s admission as a member of the International Olympic Committee (Internationales Olympisches Komitee)

Grand Duke Henri has been head of state of Luxembourg since 2000. He assumed the office after the abdication of his father, Grand Duke Jean. Henri had already been elected to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1998. In doing so, he also followed a family tradition: Jean had been a member of the IOC since 1946 and became an honorary member after the end of his regular membership.

The IOC was founded in 1894 on the initiative of Pierre de Coubertin and forms the institutional basis of the modern Olympic Games. Its tasks include awarding and supervising the Games, establishing the rules in the Olympic Charter, and recognising national Olympic committees and international sports federations. IOC members are formally not delegates of their states. According to the organisation’s own understanding, they instead represent the IOC and the Olympic movement in their respective countries.

Henri’s admission therefore did not constitute Luxembourg’s membership in the IOC, but was a personal election. His activity links the head of state of Luxembourg with an international, non-governmental sports organisation. Luxembourg itself has its own National Olympic Committee, the Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois, and has participated in the Olympic Games since the early 20th century. One of the best-known Luxembourgish Olympic champions is the middle-distance runner Josy Barthel, who won the 1,500-metre race in Helsinki in 1952.

The issue fits into the Luxembourg practice of frequently linking commemorative coins with events involving the grand ducal house or with the public duties of the head of state. At the same time, the quarter-century reached in the year of issue provided a clearly defined link between Luxembourg and the Olympic movement. The occasion thus relates both to Henri’s personal role in the IOC and to the long-standing involvement of the grand ducal family in its work.