Georges Olivet was born on 19 August 1927 in Nyon and grew up in Jussy, near Geneva. After finishing high school, he completed an apprenticeship as an electrician and mechanic before undertaking further training in business. Georges was active in his community and never missed an opportunity to help those around him. It was this mindset of tireless generosity that would lead him, in the midst of his career as a businessman in the former Belgian Congo, down the humanitarian path.

Upon entering the working world in the early 1950s, Georges had good career prospects in Switzerland but opted to move to Congo, working in textile imports. Just over six years later, moved by the difficult transition to independence that his adoptive country was experiencing, Georges contacted the ICRC delegate in Leopoldville (Kinshasa) to offer his services. Not only did Georges have such essentials as a typewriter and car, but, as a result of his business dealings, he spoke several of the country’s languages, was familiar with local customs and had an extensive range of contacts among the people.

Following a short trip back to Switzerland, Georges assumed his duties as a delegate in late October, 1960. For over a year, he crisscrossed Congo, devoted to his work. He followed up on missing people, confirmed – or secured pledges for – the release of civilian and military detainees, sought prisoner exchanges and did whatever he could to ensure the safety of those not fighting.

In autumn 1960, the ICRC sent Georges to Elisabethville (Lubumbashi), where sporadic hostilities had suddenly intensified. There, in the heat of battle, he focused his efforts on evacuating the wounded, getting them to hospital and running blood donor drives, not to mention negotiating the temporary ceasefires necessary for such actions to succeed. It was during one such attempt at securing a truce, on 13 December 1961, that Georges was killed along with two colleagues, Nicole Vroonen and Sytse Smeding, two volunteers for the Katanga Red Cross, while travelling in a Red Cross-marked ambulance. Georges was 34 years old.

With his calm assurance and can-do spirit, Georges inspired confidence among his colleagues and trust among both those he worked to help and those he negotiated with. Thanks to his clear-eyed persistence, doors opened to him and to the humanitarian spirit that he embodied. His untimely departure left a lasting mark on those he left behind.