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H.R.H. PRINCE
PHILIPPE
Duke of Brabant, Prince of
Belgium
HRH Prince Philippe was born on the 15th of 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.
At the end of secondary school, which he attended both
in French and in Dutch, he 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 Army and the Air Force (2001) and of Rear-admiral in the Navy
(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
sciences in 1985.
As a result of the increasing number of commitments, the
"Household of Prince Philippe" was created in 1992.
On the 6th of August 1993, by decision of the
Government, 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 May 2003, Prince Philippe was appointed
Honorary Chairman of the Board of the Belgian Foreign Trade
Agency, replacing the Belgian Foreign Trade Board.
In this capacity he has headed more than fifty important
economic missions :
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- to Spain and Saudi Arabia in 1993;
- to Argentina, Japan, the United Kingdom and Vietnam
in 1994;
- to the Rep. of South Africa, India, Sweden and
Malaysia in 1995;
- to the Philippines and the PR of China in 1996;
- to Turkey, Japan and the United Arab Emirates in
1997;
- to Mexico, Poland and India in 1998;
- to Egypt and Brazil in 1999;
- to the PR of China, Argentina and the Rep. of Korea
in 2000;
- to Thailand, the Russian Federation and Morocco in
2001;
- to Malaysia, Chile, Saudi Arabia & Kuwait,
Australia & New-Zealand in 2002;
- to Mexico & USA (California), Vietnam and Poland
in 2003;
- to the United Arab Emirates & the Sultanate of
Oman, Turkey, Algeria & Tunisia and the PR of China in 2004;
- to India and Japan in 2005;
- to the Rep. of South Africa, the Russian Federation,
Canada and Bulgaria in 2006;
- to the PR of China and Bahrain & Qatar in
2007;
- to the USA & Canada, Egypt, Argentina &
Uruguay and Indonesia & Singapore in 2008;
- to Mexico & Panama and the Republic of Korea in
2009;
- to India and Brazil in 2010.
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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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