Jacques Georges

Jacques Georges (France)
UEFA President from 12 August 1983 to 19 April 1990.

• Jacques George, as first vice-president, assumed the post of UEFA President ad interim upon the tragic death of Artemio Franchi (Italy) in August 1983. He was duly elected president at the UEFA Congress in Paris in 1984.

• Born on 30 May 1916, Mr Georges enjoyed a splendid career as a football administrator which spanned more than half a century, beginning in the Vosges region of eastern France in the late 1940s. He was elected to the French Football Federation's (FFF) federal bureau in 1961, and he became responsible for the French national team as a director. In 1968, he was the ideal person to take over the role of FFF President for a first term.

• Blessed with a deep understanding of the game and wider European issues, Mr Georges was elected to the UEFA Executive Committee in 1972. He played an active role in the development and modernisation of UEFA, in particular at a time of increased media coverage and heightened TV interest.

• Mr Georges was UEFA President during a momentous and turbulent time for European football – when EU matters were occupying a wider stage through issues such as freedom of movement, and as security considerations became of paramount importance in the wake of the Heysel disaster in Brussels in 1985.

• The Frenchman helped lay the foundations for the modern-day UEFA Champions League, before stepping down in 1990 and returning to office with the FFF as the association's president, while becoming Honorary UEFA President. He passed away in February 2004.