Joesph Sepp Blatter is President of FIFA, after he succeeded Joao Havelange on June 8 1998, and was re-elected in 2002. Blatter was born on March 10 1936 in the Swiss town of Visp. He gained a Business Administration and Economics degree from Lausanne University before starting life as the General Secretary of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation in 1964. A young Blatter then spent brief periods working as a journalist before pursuing a career in public relations in sport.
Blatter was part of the organising team that arranged both the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games, before he began working for FIFA as their Technical Director between 1975-91. He was made General Secretary in 1981 before being elected as President 17 years later. However, his election into office was marked by controversy following allegations of financial irregularities. Following an investigation, Blatter was cleared of any wrong-doing by Swiss authorities. (Giles Lucas)
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