HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS PRINCE PHILIPPE OF
BELGIUM
HRH Prince Philippe was born on 15 April 1960 in
Brussels, Belgium, as first child of HM King Albert II and HM Queen Paola. He
is first in the line of succession to the throne of Belgium and, as such, he
bears the title of Duke of Brabant.
On the 4th of December 1999, the Prince married
Miss Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz.
On the 25th of October 2001 Princess Mathilde gave
birth to a daughter, Princess Elisabeth. Her brother Prince Gabriel was born on
the 20th of August 2003. On the 4th of October 2005, Princess Mathilde gave
birth to her third child, Prince Emmanuel.
At the end of secondary school, which he attended
both in French and in Dutch, the Prince continued his education at the Royal
Military Academy from which he graduated in 1981. He then subsequently
qualified as fighter pilot (1982) and as a paratrooper- and commando officer
before assuming command over a paratrooper platoon. He now holds the rank of
Major-General in the Armed Forces (2001).
Prince Philippe completed his academic training at
Trinity College, University of Oxford (UK) and at the Graduate School of
Stanford University (USA) where he took a “Master of Arts Degree” in political
science in 1985.
The Prince holds an Honorary Doctorate of the
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (conferred in 2002).
As a result of the increasing number of
commitments, the “Household of Prince Philippe” was created in 1992.
On August 6, 1993, by Government decision, Prince
Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board
(BFTB). He succeeded to his father, who had been Honorary Chairman of the
BFTB since 1962. In this capacity, Prince Philippe has headed more than forty
important economic missions, of which the most recent Thailand, the Federation
of Russia and Morocco (2001), Malaysia, Chile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Australia and New Zealand (2002), Mexico, California, Vietnam and
Poland (2003), United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman, Turkey, Algeria and
the People's Republic of China (2004), India, Japan and Brazil (2005), South
Africa, the Federation of Russia and Canada (2006).
On 3 May 2003, Prince Philippe was appointed
Honorary Chairman of the Board of the Foreign Trade Agency, replacing the BFTB.
On June 21, 1994 he became a member of the Senate.
In addition to his various official duties, Prince
Philippe concentrates on gaining more in-depth knowledge of his country, its
role and its image in the world and in international relations.
The Prince is keenly interested in the situation
of young people and their integration in the society of tomorrow. He therefore
visits schools and universities, but also follows closely various social issues
such as unemployment and the struggle against poverty and exclusion.
In May 1997, Prince Philippe was appointed
Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Federal Council for Sustainable
Development, created after the Conference of Rio.
In 1998 the Prince Philippe Fund was
created, with the aim of fostering exchanges between citizens or organisations
from all three Communities of the country.
In 2003, Prince Philippe became Honorary Chairman
of BIO (Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries).
Since 2004, Prince Philippe is also Honorary
Chairman of the European Chapter of the Club of Rome and of the
International Polar Foundation.
In May 2004, Prince Philippe obtained his licence
as a civilian helicopter pilot. He spends his rare leisure moments at home with
his family and also likes to read, especially on subjects related to the
problems and challenges confronting men and women in today's society. He
practises sports regularly and is keen to maintain a healthy physical
condition.
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