Emile Francqui

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Emile Francqui ( Brussels, 25 June 1863 - Brussels, 1 November 1935) was a Belgian soldier, diplomat and business man. Being an orphan, he was sent to the military school when he was 15 years ol. When Emile Francqui was 21 years old he, like other young officers, was sent to Congo Free State by king Leopold II of Belgium.

In 1896, he becomes the Belgian consul in China and stayed there until 1902. In China he meets the later American president Herbert Hoover during negotiations concerning the granting of the Hankow-Canton railroad concession in China in 1901. Although they are competitors, they respect each other very much.

Emile Francqui returns to Belgium in 1902, and starts his financial career. He becomes the Managing Director of the "Banque d'Outremer", and Managing Director of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga. Ten years after his return to Belgium, he becomes Director of the Société Générale de Belgique, and in 1932 becomes Governor of the Société Générale. During World War I he is President of the Belgian National Relief and Food Committee (Dutch: Nationaal Hulp en Voedingscomité, French: Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation). During World War I, Herbert Hoover in the United States sets-up the Commission for Relief in Belgium and this way he supports the Belgian National Relief and Food Committee.

After the war the remaining resources of the committee were decided to be used for the rebuilding of Belgium. Emile Francquin wanted to invest in the universities as a means for rebuilding the country. In 1920 the University Foundation was founded by Emile Francquin. In addition the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF) was founded for the exchange of students between Belgium and the United States. Emile Francquin was also involved in the establishment of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS).

In April 1924, Emile Franqui participated in the creation of the Dawes Plan to find a solution for the collection of the German reparations debt following World War I.

The later king Leopold III of Belgium, asks Emile Francquin to take steps to improve the health of the population Belgian Congo. This leads to the foundation Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine in 1931 of which he becomes the first President.

In 1932 Emile Francqui and Herbert Hoover created the Francqui Foundation for the support of basic research in Belgium.