Walter Sieber Awarded Quebec Order
Walter Sieber, renowned sport expert and Canadian Olympic Committee board member, was inducted on June 17 to the Order of Quebec. The induction ceremony, at the Quebec legislature, also included Olympic hockey star Mario Lemieux.
Sieber, a VANOC board member as well, was COC vice-president from 1985 to 2009, stretching across 12 Olympic Games and six Pan American Games. That included being selected as Canada’s Chef de Mission for the Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games.
Sieber is known throughout the world as a proficient organizer of major sport events. He led to the charge in nearly all aspects of the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, efforts later lauded by the International Olympic Committee. The organizing committees of both the Moscow 1980 and Seoul 1988 Olympic Games invited Sieber to be an advisor. For the Winter Games in Calgary in 1988, Sieber was a board member of the organizing committee.
Sieber has been involved in all Canadian Olympic bids since 1980, including as vice-president of sports for the Toronto 1996 and Quebec City 2002 bids. Since 2004, he has sat on an IOC body that analyzes all Olympic bids and makes recommendations to the IOC Executive Board.
Sieber is also a leading authority on international football (soccer), having managed many World Cups and World Championships over the past 20 years.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest said at the ceremony that, “”Quebecers are paying homage to some of their most illustrious fellow citizens.” The Order of Quebec is the highest distinction awarded by the provincial government. It has been in place since 1984.
