Javier Gómez Navarro, a former socialist minister and one of the key figures of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, died this Thursday in Madrid at the age of 78 from cancer, as confirmed by sources close to the former president of the Higher Sports Council (. CDD).
Born in Madrid on September 13, 1945 and an engineer by profession, Gómez Navarro was Secretary of State for Sports from January 1987 to July 1993 and, as head of the CSD, was in charge of managing the preparation of the Barcelona Olympic Games.
During his term in the Council, the Sports Law of 1990 was approved, which transformed football and basketball clubs into public limited companies, a measure promoted to end the debt generated by them. In addition, he undertook the reform of the Sports Law in 1990. For all this, he received the Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Sports Merit in 1998.
Likewise, as Secretary of State for Sports, Gómez Navarro was the promoter of the ADO program, through which private sponsorship companies partner with athletes and Olympic federations to finance their participation in the Olympic Games.
After heading the CSD, he served as Minister of Commerce and Tourism between 1993 and 1996. During his ministerial term, the Commercial Law of 1996 was approved, focusing on establishing the general legal regime for retail trade.
After his political career ended, Gómez Navarro chaired the company MBD, dedicated to business consultancy, since 1998. In 2005, he was appointed president of the company Aldeasa and was president of the Higher Council of Chambers of Commerce between 2005 and 2014, when he was replaced by the current president, José Luis Bonet.
