International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge. - reuters

A HECTIC two days of engagements in Jamaica await president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Count Jacques Rogge. The IOC president was due to arrive here late last night from Cuba and will be in the island until tomorrow evening as a guest of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA).

His first scheduled engagement today is a 10:00 a.m courtesy call on Governor-General, Professor Kenneth Hall. This will be followed by visits to Jamaica House to meet with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and 20 Belmont Road to call on Leader of the Opposition, Bruce Golding.

Count Rogge will also meet with Jamaica's legendary Olym-pian Herb McKenley at the JOA's office on Cunningham Avenue this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. McKenley who won four medals at the Olympics, including a relay gold in 1952, celebrated his 84th birthday on July 10 this year.

Tomorrow morning the IOC president will address an extraordinary general meeting of the JOA before holding a press conference at the Pegasus Hotel at noon.

His other major engagement tomorrow is a visit to the IAAF High Performance Centre at the University of Technology. He is due to depart the island at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Orthopaedic surgeon

Count Rogge, an orthopaedic surgeon, is the eighth president of the IOC.

He was elected on July 16, 2001 as the successor to Juan Antonio Samaranch, who had led the IOC since 1980.

Born in Ghent, Belgium, he competed in yachting in the 1968, 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics and played on the Belgian national rugby team.

Count Rogge also served as president of the Belgian Olympic Committee from 1989 to 1992, and as president of the European Olympic Committees from 1989 to 2001

He became a member of the IOC in 1991 and joined the executive board in 1998. He was knighted and given the title of count by King Albert II of Belgium.