Lassana Palenfo

Lassana Palenfo (born January 25, 1941 in Ivory Coast) is an Ivorian military general. He has held various offices in several international sporting organisations. He was the director of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (2005-2018), and a member of the International Olympic Committee (2000-2012), and has been the director of the National Olympic Committee of Ivory Coast since 1999, director of the African Judo Union since 1990 and vice-president of the International Judo Federation since 1990. He was awarded the Olympic Order in Silver in 2012. In his whole life, he practiced multiple sports like swimming, judo (black belt, 4th dan) and football (schools championships). In July 2013, during the elective General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, he was reelected for a 3rd mandate in a row as the ANOCA president.

Born on January 25, 1941, in Ivory Coast, Lassana Palenfo left his country to study in France. He graduated from several schools in Paris, including the National College of Financial Administration, the Paris Institute of Administration and Management and the Paris School of Social Sciences. Then he followed a military course in the Inter-armes military schools of Coëtquidan and Saint Maixent. After these studies, Lassana Palenfo started two different careers: a military one and a sportive administration one.