Julio Gerlein Comelín studied at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York and then returned to Colombia where he became a civil servant, directing the free industrial and commercial zone of Barranquilla, and then becoming mayor of Barranquilla. He was Secretary for Public Works in the Department of the Atlantic in Colombia, was President of the Colombian Red Cross, and was a Director of Rotary International. He founded the Colombian Olympic Committee in 1936 and served as its President until 1945. He also served on Organizing Committees for the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Bolivarian Games. Gerlein Comelín was co-opted onto the IOC in July 1952 and served until his death, which occurred from a heart attack during the 1986 IOC Session in Lausanne. He was posthumously given the Olympic Order, which was presented to his widow, who was with him at the 1986 Session.
Colombia