John Bredenkamp facts for kids

John Arnold Bredenkamp (born August 11, 1940 – died June 18, 2020) was a well-known businessman from Zimbabwe. He was also a talented rugby union player who even captained the Rhodesian team. John Bredenkamp founded a big company called the Casalee Group, which traded tobacco around the world.

Growing Up and Early Life

John Bredenkamp was born in South Africa. When he was a child, his family moved to what was then called Southern Rhodesia. He went to school at Prince Edward School in Salisbury. John was of Dutch background. He became a Rhodesian citizen in 1958. Later, he was reported to have lost his Zimbabwean citizenship by mistake in 1984. However, he got it back soon after.

John Bredenkamp was said to have passports from Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the Netherlands. He was also a great rugby player. He was the captain of the Rhodesia rugby team from 1965 to 1968.

Starting His Career

After finishing school, John Bredenkamp started working for Gallaher Limited. This was a large international tobacco company in Zimbabwe. He worked there as a buyer of tobacco leaves. In 1968, he moved to the Netherlands for work. There, he became a director in charge of tobacco leaves.

In 1976, John left Gallaher. He then started his own group of companies called the Casalee Group. These companies were based in Antwerp, Belgium. Casalee mainly bought and sold tobacco leaves. It also did general trading and arranged special trade deals. The Casalee Group grew very quickly over 16 years. It became the fifth largest tobacco trading company in the world. It was also the biggest tobacco company not based in the USA.

The Casalee Group employed 2,500 people. It had offices in many countries where tobacco is grown. These included the USA, Argentina, Brazil, China, and many others. The company also owned factories in the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Brazil. In 1993, John Bredenkamp sold the Casalee Group. It was bought by Universal Leaf Tobacco, the biggest tobacco company in the world. After this, John expanded his business into many new areas. He did this mainly through his company called Breco, which was based in Zimbabwe.

His Role in Zimbabwe

John Bredenkamp became very important in business during the late 1970s. At this time, Rhodesia was under international sanctions. This meant it was difficult for the country to trade with others. It is said that John helped manage the money for the Rhodesian armed forces. He found ways to sell Rhodesian products, mostly tobacco. He then used the money to buy military supplies. His special trade deals helped Rhodesia keep going for a longer time. These deals were legal under Rhodesian law at the time.

After Zimbabwe became independent in 1980, John Bredenkamp left the country. He moved his main business operations to Belgium. But he continued to trade goods and get defense supplies. In 1984, he was able to return to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe became a good place for John to do business with customers in Africa and the Middle East. These dealings helped John and his partners become very rich. They also helped the Zimbabwean economy during a difficult time.

John Bredenkamp gained a lot of influence in Zimbabwe's politics and economy. He played a big part in Zimbabwe's involvement in the DRC between 1998 and 2003. This involved Zimbabwe's army helping the government there. When the European Union placed sanctions on Zimbabwe from 1999, John's experience helped the country get supplies for its armed forces.

John Bredenkamp became a powerful person behind the scenes in the ruling ZANU-PF party. It was thought that he tried to help President Robert Mugabe step down in 2004. He was also linked to claims of trying to help Mugabe retire in 2000.

In September 2006, John Bredenkamp was tried in Zimbabwe. The charge was that he used a South African passport when traveling internationally. Zimbabwean law at the time did not allow people to have two nationalities. He was found not guilty. However, he had to go to court again to get his Zimbabwean passport back. He was told to show proof that he had given up his South African citizenship. But his passport was returned to him.

In April 2016, The Guardian newspaper reported on John Bredenkamp's wealth. They estimated he had about £700 million. This fortune came from trading tobacco, dealing in arms, sports marketing, and diamond mining. From 2008 until he passed away, John Bredenkamp was under US sanctions. These sanctions were aimed at people who had a lot of influence within the Zimbabwean government.

His Passing

John Bredenkamp passed away on June 18, 2020. News reports said that he died because of kidney failure.

See also

• Tremalt
• Whites in Zimbabwe