Jean Todt - FIA President
Jean Todt was born on the 25 February 1946 in Pierrefort Cantal (France); he has a son, Nicolas.

After high school he attended 'Ecole Des Cadres' , the Economics and Business School in Paris. In 1966, Todt makes his debut as a rallying co-driver, racing for the biggest manufacturers and alongside the best drivers. From 1975 to 1981 he is also the rally drivers' representative on the Rally Commission of the FIA.

In 1981 he won, as a co-driver, the Rally World Constructors' Championship with Talbot Lotus. At the end of the season, Peugeot president, Jean Boillot, made him head of the Department of Sport. Jean Todt set up Peugeot Talbot Sport, an outfit that twice won the World Constructors' Championship and the Rally Drivers' title. Wins also came in rallies and important races such as the Paris-Dakar (won four times). During this time Todt represented the constructors on the Rally Commission of the FIA.

In 1987, in a wide-ranging rethink of brand and image, Jean Todt is handed the task of harmonising all non-automotive sporting activities of Peugeot, in collaboration with the Management Department.

In 1992, Peugeot wins the World Championship for sports vehicles. Back-to-back victories in the 24-hour Le Mans race follow in 1992 and 1993.

----

On the 1st of July 1993, the president of Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, appoints Jean Todt as Team Principal of Ferrari Gestione Sportiva, with the aim of taking Ferrari back to the top level in Formula 1. Under his direction, until 2004 the Scuderia Ferrari have so far won eleven Formula 1 World titles (Constructors' from 1999 to 2004 and Drivers' from 2000 to 2004, all with Michael Schumacher). Todt is also on the World Motor Sport Council of the FIA as the Ferrari representative.

In 2001, Jean Todt is nominated the General Director of Gestione Sportiva, assuming responsibility of all the sporting activity of the Ferrari Maserati Group. In the same year, Todt becomes part of the Board of Directors of the Group.

In 2002 Todt received the title of 'Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana' from President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. It was the second such honour bestowed upon him after the 'Commandeur de la Legiòn d'Honneur' conferred by the President of the French Republic.

Jean Todt works hard for humanitarian causes: since April 2003 he has been called to act as an Ambassador of the Republic of San Marino. He is on the executive committee of Adrec, an association created to research into neurological and spinal diseases. He works closely with ICM (Institut pour le Cerveau et la Moelle epiniere).

In February 2004 Todt was awarded an honorary degree in mechanical engineering by the University of Florence.

It has passed into motor sport history that it was at the 1993 French Grand Prix that Jean Todt started his career as head of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro. The anniversary is still important to the Frenchman, but this year he shares the significance of the event with the fact that the 2006 race marks the one hundredth anniversary of the first race to be given the title "Grand Prix," when a two day event was staged around the town of Le Mans in 1906.

"The French Grand Prix is of course a home race for me," he admits. "But I have many home grands prix as the Italian GP is a national race for me too. However, having said that, I am not really the sort of person for whom anniversaries mean that much, as I do not attach much significance to these rather institutional events. But it's true that the French Grand Prix is the first one I attended when I started work for Ferrari in 1993. I had come here from Peugeot, switching from one day to the next to Ferrari. I still think about it in the same way one remembers an anniversary or a birthday.

"If I had been told back in 1993 that I would still be here today, I would not have believed it. It is the longest I have ever spent in one job. In fact my career consists of being a professional co-driver for fifteen years, from 1966 to 1981, but with a lot of different teams and drivers. Then came my time with PSA, Peugeot-Citroen: from October '81 to 30th June 1993, a period of twelve years and around three months. Since then, it's been thirteen years with Ferrari, the longest period in my career and it's not over yet!"

Asked to pick the best Magny-Cours moment during his time with Ferrari, Jean Todt has no hesitation in selecting the 2002 event. "Michael took the driver's title here, when it was just the eleventh race of the season," he points out. "In a way, that day, that event revolutionised Formula 1, because it led to a new points distribution system and new rules, as we had discouraged all our opponents. We took the title at only the eleventh race and a couple of races later we took the Constructors' championship. The 2004 race when we won with Michael running a four pit stop strategy was unique. It was an all-or-nothing plan. It owed a bit to despair and a need to win, whereas 2002 was total domination. To win you have to bring so many elements together and we managed to do it better than the other teams."

----

Jean Todt was replaced as Team Principal by Stefano Domenicali in 2008, but he still retained his role as CEO of Ferrari. However, during March 2009 he announced that he would be leaving Scuderia Ferrari. He later proceeded to launch his campaign for FIA presidency after Max Mosley decided to step down from his position at the end of the 2009 season. From the 23rd October, Todt officially become the president of the FIA after beating Ari Vatanen with 135 votes to the latter's 49.