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Juan Antonio Samaranch, who steered the Olympic movement through two turbulent decades marked by political boycotts, bribery and drug scandals plus a greater emphasis on commercialism, has died at the age of 89, Reuters reported.
Appointed honorary life president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) when he stepped down as president in 2001, Samaranch was admitted to the Quiron clinic in his native Barcelona on Sunday with acute heart problems and passed away at 1325 local time on Wednesday.
He had died as a result of "cardio-respiratory failure" hospital doctor Rafael Esteban said in a statement.
"I cannot find the words to express the distress of the Olympic Family," IOC president Jacques Rogge said.
"We have lost a great man, a mentor and a friend who dedicated his long and fulfilled life to the Olympics."
Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe, now chairman of the 2012 London Olympics organizing committee, said he had lost a friend and the world has lost an inspirational man.
"A man that challenged us all to fight for sport, its primacy and its autonomy, a fight he led fearlessly from the front creating an extraordinary sporting movement that reaches millions of people around the world," Coe said.
"He was quite simply the most intuitive leader I have ever met."