Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant

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Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant bigraphy, stories - Generals

Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant : biography

15 April 1960 –

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Prince Philippe, Duke of Brabant ( ; born 15 April 1960) is the heir apparent to the crown of Belgium, as the eldest child and eldest son of King Albert II and Queen Paola. He is married to Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz (now Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant). The eldest of their four children, Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, will become the heir apparent after the ascension of Philippe to the Belgian throne, which puts her in line to be Belgium’s first female monarch.Philippe Siuberski, , AFP, 4 July 2013.

On 3 July 2013, King Albert announced that he will abdicate the throne on 21 July due to health reasons, and that Philippe will succeed him as the next King of the Belgians.

Arms

Gustaaf Janssens, Archivist of the Royal Palace, confirms that The Duke of Brabant’s coat of arms consists of his father The King’s coat of arms, minus the sceptres and Grand Collar of the Order of Leopold, and with the helm facing to the left (heraldic dexter).

Foreign trade

On 6 August 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. On 3 May 2003, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary chairman of the board of the Foreign Trade Agency, replacing the BFTB.

In this capacity, Prince Philippe has headed (alone "P", or with Princess Mathilde since 2000 "P&M") more than sixty important economic missions which are: (French)Agence pour le Commerce extérieur,

  • 1993: Spain, Saudi Arabia
  • 1994–95: Japan, Vietnam, South Africa, India, Sweden, Malaysia, Argentina,
  • 1996–98: Philippines (March 1996), China (1996), Turkey, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Poland, India (December 1998)
  • 1999: Egypt and Brazil.
  • 2000: China (May, P&M), Uruguay & South Korea
  • 2001: Thailand (February), the Federation of Russia (June, P), Morocco
  • 2002: Malaysia, Chile, Saudi Arabia & Kuwait (18–24 October, P), Australia and New Zealand (16–27 November, P&M)
  • 2003: Mexico & California (15–25 February, P&M), Vietnam (11–17 October, P) and Poland (16–21 November, P&M)
  • 2004: United Arab Emirates & Oman, Turkey (2–6 May, P&M), Algeria & Tunisia (4–8 October, P) and China (20–28 November, P&M)
  • 2005: India (12–19 March, P&M), Japan (11–18 June, P), Brazil (19–26 November, P)
  • 2006: South Africa (11–18 March, P&M), Russia (26 June – 1 July, P&M), Canada (5–11 Nov, P), Bulgaria & Romania (10–13 Dec, P&M)
  • 2007: China & Hong-Kong (15–25 June, P&M), Bahrain & Qatar (2–6 November, P&M)
  • 2008: Seattle/Vancouver (7–13 March, P), Egypt (24–28 May, P), Argentina & Uruguay (4–10 Oct, P),         Indonesia / Singapore (21–28 Nov, P&M)
  • 2009: Mexico/Panama (21–27 March, P&M), S. Korea (9–15 May, P), Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates (22–27(P)-28(&M) Oct.),         Morocco (22–26 November, P&M).
  • 2010: India (20–27 March, P&M), Brazil (15–22 May, P&M), Kazakhstan (11–15 October, P), Ukraine (21–24 November, P).
  • 2011: Russia – Moscow – St Pet. (3–8 April, P&M), United States – New York, Washington & Boston (22–30 June, P&M),           China (20–29 October, P&M), Chile (3–7 December, P).
  • 2012: Vietnam (10–16 March, P&M), Japan (11–15 June, P&M), Turkey (15–19 Oct, P&M), Australia & New Zealand (16–30 Nov, P).

Missions to come:

  • 2013: Thailand (March), United States – Los Angeles, San Francisco & San Diego (June), South Africa & Angola (October), India (November).
  • 2014: Saudi Arabia & Oman (March), Russia (April), Colombia & Peru (October), Indonesia (November).