“Another pioneer of international university sport has left us”. FISU mourns Emeritus Honorary member Constantin Anastassov
For more than a half-century, Constantin Anastassov successfully combined his roles as a renowned professor in maxillofacial surgery and of an eminent leader of the international university sports movement. Emeritus Honorary member of FISU since 2003, he accompanied the Federation through exploits and hardships, and has played a vital role in creating the FISU of today.
“Another pioneer of international university sport has left us. It is with great gratitude that we look back on many years and achievements together, which Constantin Anastassov played a decisive role in shaping. His broad knowledge, his multilingualism and his eloquence have helped to shape FISU into what it is today,” said Leonz Eder, FISU Acting President.
Constantin Anastassov was born in Paris in 1926. His family soon moved to Sofia, where he studied medicine at the university and made a successful academic career. During his student years, he was involved in the Bulgarian youth movement and had leading positions in the national student sports association Akademik. In the late 1950s, as a member of the Bulgarian delegation, Constantin Anastassov participated in the reunification of the international university sports movement and attended the first Universiade in 1959 – the same year that he successfully defended his doctoral thesis in medicine.
“Constantin was a true encyclopaedia of University Sport. He was involved in the movement from the start and participated in its unification. I spent many years by his side and was privileged to appreciate the wonderful family that surrounded him. It is a huge loss for our organisation, I already miss his sense of humour and bursts of laughter,” expressed Eric Saintrond, FISU Secretary General-CEO.
Constantin Anastassov was a polyglot, which certainly helped him on his extraordinary path at FISU direction. He was elected to FISU International Control Committee (CIC) in 1961 and even became its president – a position he kept from 1965 to 1991. During this time, he was elected to the FISU Executive Committee as assessor from 1971 to 1975, then vice-president from 1975 to 1991, and first assessor from 1991 to 2003. In parallel to these functions, he was also a member of the Sports Regulations Committee (CRS) (1963-1991) and became its chairman (1991-2003). Constantin Anastassov organised four editions of Universiades in Bulgarian capital – two in summer: 1961 and 1977, and two in winter: 1983 and 1989.
Constantin Anastassov handing over the FISU flag to the organisers of Sapporo 1991 Winter Universiade – Sofia, 1989
In 2003, FISU awarded Constantin Anastassov with the title of Emeritus Honorary Member.
FISU extends its condolences to the family of Constantin Anastassov and would like to share its deepest gratitude to Constantin for all these years of service to a cause that he believed in, and to his family for supporting him through his endeavors.
