Fernando Lima Bello (27 November 1931 – 3 June 2021) was Portugal's only member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

since 1989, when he ended his term at the presidency of the

Olympic Committee of Portugal The Olympic Committee of Portugal ( ; acronym: COP) is a non-profit organisation of public utility, which serves as the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Portugal. It was founded on October 26, 1909, to ensure a timely, methodical and state-spo ...

. Bello was born in Lisbon. He was a

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

alumnus of the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

, the director of a road construction company, a member of the Registration Committee for Public Works Contractors, Director of the Regional Association of Contractors and Constructors and Director of the Construction Department, Ministry of Employment. Lima Bello died in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, on 3 June 2021.

Sailing

In 1953, he won, as a crew of Antonio José Conde Martins, the Snipe class world championship, and won a silver medal at the Star European Championship. He was Portuguese national champion in Star,

Dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

and

12 m2 Sharpie The 12 m2 Sharpie was a type of Sharpie (boat), Sharpie sailing boat designed in 1931 by the Kröger Brothers in Warnemünde, Germany. The peak of the class was in the Sailing at the 1956 Summer Olympics, 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games. The o ...

Olympic Games

He participated in the Olympic Games in Acapulco 1968 and

Munich 1972 The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

in Dragon.

Sports administrator

He was chairman of the Portuguese Sailing Federation and its technical committee; sailing inspector for the Portuguese Youth Organization; member of the

International Sailing Federation International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(ISAF); chairman of the Jury of the World Sailing Championships (Finn, 420, Cadet); member of the NOC (1975-), of its executive board (1977–1980) then chairman (1981–1989); during his tenure the Olympic Academy of Portugal was founded; chef de mission at the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow in 1980; member of the Higher Sports Council and of the Sports Council for High Level Competition.

IOC

Member of the IOC from 1989 to 2010; honorary member since 2010; member of the following commissions: Cultural (1985–1999), International Olympic Academy and Olympic Education (1990–1999), Eligibility (1992–1993), Evaluation for the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad in 2004 (1996), Culture and Olympic Education (2000-); commissioner of the IOC at the Universal Exhibition in Lisbon (1998).

Awards and distinctions

Olympic Order (2009); Portugal Sports Merit collar; Order Infante D. Henrique, Portugal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bello, Fernando Lima 1931 births 2021 deaths Portuguese International Olympic Committee members Portuguese male sailors (sport) Recipients of the Olympic Order Olympic sailors for Portugal Sailors at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Dragon Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Dragon Open Snipe class world champions Sailors (sport) from Lisbon World champions in sailing for Portugal 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen