Jean-Yves Ollivier
"Jean-Yves Ollivier played a vital behind-the-scenes role in facilitating the Brazzaville Accords, thanks to his extensive network of high-level contacts. He is the only foreigner to have received South Africa’s highest award, first in 1987 – under the apartheid regime – for having organised an unprecedented regional exchange of prisoners, and then in 1995 from Nelson Mandela for his contribution to peace.
"Along side his career as a businessman and commodities trader in Africa, China and the Middle East, Jean-Yves Ollivier has continued to pursue a career in parallel diplomacy, harnessing his professional contacts to the cause of peace.
"Among many other peace initiatives in which he has been involved, he played a pivotal role in the 2002 talks in Sun City which led to a power-sharing agreement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between President Joseph Kabila and four rebel leaders. He also had an important role in the reconciliation process between Uganda and Sudan which paved the way for the independence of South Sudan.
"Jean-Yves Ollivier is an “Officier de la Légion d’honneur” in France and has received awards from a number of other countries." [1]
- Founder, Brazzaville Foundation
