Jean-Yves Ollivier

Jean-Yves Ollivier (born 8 October 1944 in Algiers, Algeria) is a French businessman who works primarily in the commodities sector in emerging markets.
In addition to his business ventures, Jean-Yves Ollivier is active as a parallel diplomat, using his personal relationships with heads of states to facilitate mediation and peace processes in Africa.
He is the President of the Brazzaville Foundation.

Career

Jean-Yves Ollivier began his career in the 1960s. He started working for trading companies doing business between Europe and Africa, including Strauss Turnbull & Co, JA Goldschmidt SA, and Grainex.

During the first half of the 1970s, following the first world oil shock, he started working in the oil and gas sector. In 1980, he started his own oil trading company, Vitank, in association with Henk Vietor, Peter de Savary and Arhmed Mannai.

From 1984 to 1989, he was head of the Coal Trading Corporation (CTC).

In 1994, he created Gestilac SA, and in 2002, PanAf Consultancy GmbH (Zurich) and Pan Africa Consulting(Hong-Kong). He later merged the three companies into one holding corporation: the Fort group.

In 2009, he closed the sale of 25% of offshore Marine XII in Congo Brazzaville waters from ENI and SNPC to London-based company New Age.

Parallel diplomacy

In the 1980s, Jean-Yves Ollivier became advisor on African affairs to then Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac. He remained advisor to Jacques Chirac when the latter became Prime minister.

In 1985, Jacques Chirac asked him to undertake a secret mission to free four French hostages held in Lebanon (Marcel Fontaine, Marcel Carton, Jean-Paul Kaufmann and Michel Seurat).

On September 7, 1987, on the tarmac of Maputo airport, Mozambique, 133 Angolan soldiers and 50 SWAPO independence fighters from Namibia were freed by South African authorities in exchange for South African captain Wynand DuToit. DuToit had been captured 2 years earlier in Angola while he and his men were trying to sabotage oil infrastructure in Cabinda, during what has been called Operation Cabinda. Jean-Yves Ollivier secretly negotiated this large-scale prisoner exchange, which also led to the liberation of two anti-apartheid militants who were being held in South Africa, Frenchman Pierre-Andre Albertini and Dutchman Klaas de Jong.

On December 13, 1988, the Brazzaville Protocol established that the 50,000 Cuban soldiers in Angola would leave the country, as the South African troops would withdraw, and as Namibia would become independent. Namibia had been, until then, under South African control and was used as a rear-base for South African military. The small territory also hosted UNITA leader and Angolan rebel Jonas Savimbi.

Jean-Yves Ollivier facilitated negotiations on the Brazzaville protocol by bringing in his friend Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso as mediator.

In 1989, Jean-Yves Ollivier began a mediation process in Comoros following French mercenary Bob Denard’s coup de force on the islands. He convinced Denard to leave the islands.

In 1990, he organized new South African president Frederik de Klerk's visit to France. It was the first visit by a South African president in France in 40 years. French President François Mitterrand personally received de Klerk.

In 2002, Jean-Yves Ollivier engaged in talks in Sun City. These talks eventually led to a power sharing agreement in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) between President Joseph Kabila and several rebel leaders, including Jean-Pierre Bemba, the head of the Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC).

Jean-Yves Ollivier is the President of the Brazzaville Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to conflict resolution and nature conservation. The Foundation acts as an honest broker between warring parties, in the strictest confidence and on the basis of a frank and direct dialogue.

In 1987, Jean-Yves Ollivier received the Order of Good Hope from Foreign minister Roelof “Pik” Botha. In 1995, he was elevated to the grade of Grand Officer of the Order of Good Hope by South African president Nelson Mandela for his role in ending the Apartheid. Jean-Yves Ollivier is the only French non government affiliated individual so far to have received this distinction.

Jean-Yves Ollivier also holds the title of “Officier de la Légion d’honneur” and “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite” in France, as well as the title of “Commandeur de l’Ordre de Mérite Congolais” in Congo Brazzaville, and “Grand Officier de l ‘Étoile d’Anjouan” in Comoros.