Gustav Wiederkehr

Gustav Wiederkehr (Switzerland)
UEFA President from 17 April 1962 to 7 July 1972

• Gustav Wiederkehr was elected as UEFA's second president at the sixth Ordinary UEFA Congress on 17 April 1962, succeeding Ebbe Schwartz (Denmark). He had been President of the Swiss Football Association (SFV/ASF) since 1954.

• Born on 2 October 1905, Mr Wiederkehr took over the UEFA President's post at a critical time in the organisation's development. European football was in a phase of construction and rapid expansion, as a result of the newly-created European club competitions, as well as the advent of television and improved travel across Europe.

• A committed European, Mr Wiederkehr saw his role as helping to consolidate and build up Europe's prominent position within international football. An uncomplicated, but dynamic, enterprising and inventive man, he had studied economics and was on several occasions a member of the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee, and he also became a FIFA vice-president.

• The UEFA President's love for the game shone through – he was a player in his youth, and also served as chairman of the Young Fellows Zürich club. Astute, an intelligent negotiator and an innovate businessman in the carpet industry, he served as President for 10 years until his sudden death in the summer of 1972.