Pierre-Paul-Marie Offermann (26 March 1897 – 2 February 1970) was the commandant of the Gangala-na-bodio elephant domestication center and chief warden of the conservation service of 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 ...

, the '' Service des Eaux et Forêts, Chasse et Pêche''.

Biography

Pierre Offermann was born on 26 March 1897 in

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

Province of Brabant The Province of Brabant (, ; ) was a province in Belgium from 1830 to 1995. It was created in 1815 as South Brabant, part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. In 1995, it was split into the Dutch-speaking Flemish Brabant, the French-speaki ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. At the age of 16, he volunteered for the 1st Regiment of Guides and later fought in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In June 1923, Offermann was assigned to the

Force Publique The ''Force Publique'' (, "Public Force"; ) was the military of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo from 1885 to 1960. It was established after Belgian Army officers travelled to the Free State to found an armed force in the colony on L ...

and posted to the headquarters in Stanleyville. In 1927, he was tasked with establishing an elephant domestication center in

Orientale Province Orientale Province () is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary changes between 1898 and 2015, when it was divided ...

. The new center was opened under the name of

Gangala-na-Bodio Elephant Domestication Center Gangala-na-Bodio (French language, French: ''Centre de domestication des éléphants de Gangala-na-Bodio'') was a Belgian Congo, colonial-era elephant-domestication station located in Gangala-na-Bodio, near Faradje in present-day Democratic Repu ...

and Offermann became its commandant. He also played a significant role in the establishment of

Garamba National Park Garamba National Park () is a national park in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo covering nearly . It is among Africa's oldest parks and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habit ...

and became its first warden in 1938. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Offerman was summoned to London, where he served as an advisor to the Minister of Colonies,

Albert de Vleeschauwer Albert De Vleeschauwer, later Baron Albert De Vleeschauwer van Braekel, (1 January 1897 in Nederbrakel – 24 February 1971 in Kortenberg) was a Belgian politician of the Catholic Party. De Vleeschauwer served as Catholic deputy for the Leuve ...

, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel. After the war, he returned to Congo. He retired in 1953 and moved back to Belgium. He died in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

on 2 February 1970.

Notes

References

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''Biographie coloniale belge VIIb''
1977 {{DEFAULTSORT:Offerman, Pierre Nature conservation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Elephant conservation Belgian conservationists Belgian Congo people Belgian colonisation in Africa