René Essomba

René Essomba became a professor of surgery and was head surgeon at the Central Hospital Yaoundé (1962-77). He was also President of the Order of Doctors of Cameroon. Essomba competed as a youth in athletics, cycling, and football. In sports administration he served as President of the Cameroonian Football Federation from 1966-72, President of the Central African Football Union in 1968, and Vice-President of the African Football Confederation from 1972-76. In Cameroon he was Vice-President (1968-72) and President (1972-1998) of the National Olympic Committee. Essomba also served on the Administrative Council of the National Sports Office and was Secretary-General of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) from 1989-98.

Essomba became an IOC Member in 1978 and served as a member of the Medical Commission from 1981-98, and on the Commission for the Olympic Movement (1991-94). He died in 1998 but was named prominently in the 1999 Olympic Bribery Scandal. The scandal actually started when it was revealed in November 1998 that his daughter, Sonia Essomba, had attended American University in Washington, DC, but her tuition had been paid for by the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee.