Olivier Reverdin; Former Rolex Chief, Journalist, Legislator, Greek Scholar

Olivier Reverdin, 86, former chairman of Rolex, Swiss legislator and a Greek scholar. Reverdin served as chairman of Montres Rolex SA from 1973 to 1993. He was long involved with the daily Journal de Geneve, which subsequently merged into the daily Le Temps. He was the paper’s parliamentary editor from 1945 to 1954, and later managing editor and chairman. In 1954, Reverdin was elected a delegate to the Swiss parliament, in which he served until 1979. Recognized for his thesis on religion in Plato’s ideal city, Reverdin was an honorary fellow of the Academy of Athens and a professor of ancient Greek literature at the University of Geneva. He was also chairman of the Swiss government’s National Science Foundation, which sponsors a wide range of research projects. On Friday in Geneva.