George Arthur Forrest (born 1940) is a Belgian entrepreneur, owner of the

Forrest Group The Forrest Group (also Groupe Forrest) is a Belgian mining conglomerate that was founded in 1922. As of 2018, the Forrest Group is active primarily in Central and East Africa. It is owned by George Arthur Forrest, a Belgian entrepreneur of New ...

(''Groupe Forrest''), a group of companies founded in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

in 1922 and active in wind power and hydroelectric energy, construction, mines and metallurgy, biological food and aviation.

Background

George Arthur Forrest was born in 1940 in

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi ( , ; former ; former ) is the second-largest Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital ...

in what is now the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(DRC). He was the son of an Irish immigrant. His father, Malta Forrest, had founded l'Entreprise Générale Malta Forrest (EGMF) in 1922 in Katanga Province in the south of the Belgian Congo. The company started as a transport company, then moved into mining and then into civil engineering. In 1968 it became a limited liability company, with George Forrest and his adoptive brother Victor Eskenazi-Forrest as Managing Directors. In 1986, after his brother died, George Forrest took full control. He created the George Forrest International Group in 1995. In the early 2000s his company acquired several major cement production facilities, which should benefit from construction demand with the end of the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

in 2003. Forrest's DRC operations grew to include 9,500 direct employees and 15,000 subcontractors. Forrest is a sponsor of ''Dialogues'', a non-profit association that promotes the visual arts in Lubumbashi and supports the city’s museum. He also owns the Grelka Biano Ranch, with 30,000 head of cattle and 800 local employees.

Controversies

In December 2001 the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

asked a panel of experts to investigate the illegal

exploitation of natural resources The exploitation of natural resources describes using natural resources, often non-renewable or limited, for economic growth or development. Environmental degradation, human insecurity, and social conflict frequently accompany natural resource ex ...

and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The panel's report was issued in October 2002. In it they said George Forrest had long-standing ties to the establishment in the

and described him as a member of the elite network of Congolese interests.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Georges Arthur Belgian businesspeople Living people 1940 births Belgian people of Irish descent People from Lubumbashi Democratic Republic of the Congo businesspeople 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people