Émile Francqui (25 June 1863 – 1 November 1935) was a Belgian soldier, diplomat, businessman and philanthropist.
Career
Émile Francqui was sent to a military school when he was just 15 years old. At the age of 21, like many young officers, he was sent to Congo Free State by king Leopold II of Belgium.[1]
In 1896, he became the Belgian consul in Imperial China and stayed there until 1902. In China he met the future American president Herbert Hoover during negotiations concerning the granting of the Hankow-Canton railroad concession in China in 1901. Although they were competitors, they respected each other very much and became friends.
Francqui returned to Belgium in 1902, and began a financial career. He became the managing director of the Banque d'Outremer, and managing director of the Union Minière du Haut Katanga (UMHK). Ten years after his return to Belgium, he became Director of the Société Générale de Belgique, and in 1932 became its Governor. During World War I he was President of the Belgian Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation