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Bessel Kok (b. 13 December, 1941 in Hilversum, The Netherlands) is a candidate for president of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The election will be held in June, 2006 in Torino, Italy during the World Chess Olympiad in the same stadium that was just used for the Winter Olympics.

For more than 20 years since the mid-1980s, Bessel Kok has been the leading chess organizer in Europe. He is a wealthy and successful businessman who backs his mega chess events with his own millions which he earned through honest enterprise, rather than by bleeding the impoverished masses or by under-the-table evasions of the Oil for Food program.

Almost every major chess event held in Central Europe for the past 20 years has involved Bessel Kok. He was also the moneyman behind the Grandmaster Association and the Professional Chess Players Association.

In the coming election, almost every major chess playing country in Europe has committed to vote for Bessel Kok. However, Bessel Kok still faces a hard uphill battle, because tiny corrupt dictatorships around the world are expected to vote for the incumbent, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Kirsan is expected to get the vote of many of the African, Arab and Asian delegates. The vote of South and Central America is unknown.

Kirsan has a simple method: First, he bribes the delegates. As example of this was at the 1996 FIDE Congress in Yerevan, Armenia where Kirsan notoriously gave a Rolex watch to the US Delegate Steven Doyle in exchange for his vote. Doyle was also appointed a FIDE Vice-President by Kirsan and got to sit up on the dais next to the great man himself and got all expenses paid trips to various exotic locations around the world in exchange for his vote.

Similarly, the opponent of Kirsan in the 2002 election, Ignatius Leong of Singapore, was rewarded by Kirsan in return for dropping out of the race and is now running on Kirsan's ticket.

Here are some of the qualifications of Bessel Kok.

Education

• 1954 -1959 Secondary School (HBS-A)-Amsterdam
• 1959 -1964 Economic Sciences Municipal University of Amsterdam
• 1982 -1990 Lecturer Strategic Management Vrije Universiteit Brussels

Career structure

• 1965 till 1970 - Apprentice, then Staff member in Compagnie Belge des Participations Paribas (Financial Holding of Paribas ) Brussels
• 1968 - 1972 - Director of Business Intelligence Services Ltd London (B.I.S.)
• 1971 till 1989 - Cofounder of S.W.I.F.T in Belgium, (Society for World Wide Interbank Telecommunication) International Banking Network currently providing payment services to 110000 banks in 124 countries.
• From 1971 - Deputy CEO of S.W.I.F.T - Brussels
• From 1980 - President and CEO of S.W.I.F.T - Brussels (1200 staff)
• 1989 till 1995 - President and CEO of Belgacom (The Belgian National Telecom Operator). On request of the Belgian government to transform the Belgian RTT state administration (26000 staff) and prepare it for privatization.
• 1995 till February 2004 - Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Cesky Telecom
• 1995 till February 2004 - Rotating Chairman of Eurotel (Czech mobile operator with 4,5 million customers). Same mission as for Belgacom.
• March 2004 till November 2004 - Advisor Morgan Stanley in Czech Republic
• From November 2004 - Advisor Cerberus Captital Management New York
• From January 2005 - Chairman Scarlet Telecommunications group Holland / Belgium

Professional Experience

In depth knowledge of European telecommunication sector (both fixed as mobile). In depth knowledge of relationships between representatives of public shareholders and operating management. 15 years experience in governance of State Telecom enterprises.

Other activities

• Member of the Board of Vaclav Havel Foundation
• Organizer of Cow Parade Prague 2004 (largest art exhibition ever held in Czech Republic)
• Advisory member of Film Studio Verein Babelsberg-Berlin
• Producer of Film Nicholas Winton, the power of Good - Emmy Award 2002
• Chairman of World Chess Grandmaster Association from 1985 till 1991

References

• Ben Verwaayen, CEO British Telecom
• Ad Scheepbouwer, CEO KPN
• Vaclav Havel, Former President Czech Republic
• Prof. Dr. Steven Schuit, Partner Alan & Overy, Amsterdam

Languages

Fluent Dutch, English, French, German. Basic knowledge of Czech.

External links

• Bessel Kok for President in 2006
• Two Tickets Announced for FIDE Elections

• Belgian chess players
• Chess players
• 1941 births
• Living people