in office between 1912 and 1946
Born in Morlanda on November 21, 1870, Edström was educated in Gothenburg and then Zurich, Switzerland. An engineer by profession, he was a very good sprinter in his youth and set a Swedish 150m record. In 1901, he was elected as the president of the Swedish Athletic Association and two years later was one of the founders of the Swedish National Sports Foundation.
He was among the organisers of the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm and in this capacity sent written invitations to interested parties to attend the inaugural Congress on July 17, 1912, which lead to the formation of the IAAF.
The hallmark of his 34 years as president was a staunch defence of amateurism but his highly skilful leadership, aided by residing in a neutral country and linguistic skills which included speaking fluent German and English, helped the IAAF steadily expand its scope and influence as well as weather the storms brought about by two World Wars.
Edström stood down as IAAF president in 1946 to become the International Olympic Committee president, a post he held for six years before retiring at the age of 82. He died in Stockholm on March 18, 1964.