Honorific Prefix: | Comte |
Birth Name: | Albert-Joseph Gautier |
Birth Date: | 26 May 1854 |
Birth Place: | Nice, France |
Death Place: | Lausanne, Switzerland |
Nationality: | French, Monegasque |
Other Names: | Albert Gauthier |
Albert-Joseph Gautier Vignal (26 May 1854 – 18 October 1939) was a French-Monegasque nobleman and tycoon who sponsored various sports in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly fencing. A close friend of the Baron de Coubertin, Gautier founded the Monegasque Olympic Committee in 1907 and, from 1908 until his death, represented Monaco on the International Olympic Committee. He was a leading figure in developing fencing as a competitive sport, and Monaco as a sporting destination. In 1933 he became an honorary member of the International Fencing Federation (FIE).[1] Outside of sport, he was president of various banks as well as the Nice Electricity Company, and Consul-General for Romania.[2]