WADA mourns the passing of former Director General Harri Syväsalmi

It is with great sadness that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) mourns the passing of its first Director General, Harri Syväsalmi, who passed away on 5 August in his home country, Finland, at the age of 71. 

WADA Director General, Olivier Niggli, said: “The global anti-doping community has lost a true pioneer. From the day WADA was founded, Harri had a clear vision for how the Agency could become the leader in the collaborative worldwide mission for clean sport. Many of WADA’s achievements have been built on Harri’s legacy. Moreover, Harri was a generous and wonderful person. It is a sad day for those who had the opportunity to work alongside him and call him our friend.” 

Mr. Syväsalmi joined WADA in 2000 and spent three years leading the Agency through its early formative years. During his time as Director General, he notably played an important role in the development and approval of the first version of the World Anti-Doping Code, in March 2003. Prior to WADA’s creation, he had played an instrumental role in the development of the Agency’s founding statutes, when he was the director of the Finnish Sports Division of the Ministry of Education. 

Mr. Syväsalmi’s remarkable career in sport spanned nearly 50 years and included roles with the European Union and the Council of Europe, where he led the drafting of the Macolin Convention, an international convention to combat the manipulation of sports competitions. He also participated in the founding of the Finnish Center for Integrity in Sports and served as its Secretary General from 2016-2018. 

WADA offers its sincerest condolences to Mr. Syväsalmi’s family and friends.