President of the International Olympic Committee congress. Athens was approved to host the 1896 Olympic Games, being the original home of the Olympics, and Vikelas was duly chosen as the first President of the IOC. Pierre, Baron de Coubertin, took over the IOC presidency when Demetrius Vikelas stepped down after the Olympics in his own country. Despite its initial success, the Olympic Movement faced hard times, as the 1900 Games (in de Coubertin's own Paris) and 1904 Games were both upstaged by World's Fairs—Exposition Universelle in 1900 and Louisiana Purchase Exposition in 1904—and received little attention. The 1906 Intercalated Games revived the momentum, and the Olympic
Secretary-General to the President Secretary-General to the President The Secretary-General to the President is the senior Irish civil servant who fulfils four distinct roles in relation to the office of the President of Ireland. The current incumbent is Art O'Leary who was appointed in June 2014. The Office was established by the "Presidential Establishment Act, 1938". Under this Act, and subsequent legislation, the Secretary General is: The Secretary General's signature is essential for the authentication of the Presidential Seal when affixed to a document executed by the Commission under Seal. Under the "Presidential Elections (Amendment) Act, 1946" the Secretary General to the President is