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. Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde have four
children: Elisabeth (born in 2001), Gabriel (2003), Emmanuel (2005) and
Eléonore (2008)
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 since then
headed more than forty important economic missions, of which:
- Thailand, the Russian Federation and Morocco in
2001;
- Malaysia, Chile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Australia/New-Zealand in 2002;
- Mexico, California-USA, Vietnam and Poland in
2003;
- The United Arab Emirates, the Sultanate of Oman,
Turkey, Algeria and the PR of China in 2004;
- The Republic of India, Japan and Brazil in
2005;
- The Republic of South Africa, the Russian
Federation, Canada and Bulgaria/Romania in 2006;
- The PR of China and Bahrain & Qatar in 2007;
- The USA (Seattle) & Canada (Vancouver) in
2008.
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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