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Baudouin
Baudouin (;, ; nl, Boudewijn Albert Karel Leopold Axel Maria Gustaaf, ; german: Balduin Albrecht Karl Leopold Axel Maria Gustav. 7 September 1930 – 31 July 1993), Dutch name Boudewijn, was King of the Belgians from 17 July 1951 until his death in 1993. He was the last Belgian king to be sovereign of the Congo. Baudouin was the elder son of King Leopold III (1901–1983) and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden (1905–1935). Because he and his wife, Queen Fabiola, had no children, at Baudouin's death the crown passed to his younger brother, King Albert II. Childhood and accession Prince Baudouin was born on 7 September 1930 in the Château du Stuyvenberg, near Laeken, Brussels, the elder son and second child of Prince Leopold, then Duke of Brabant, and his first wife, Princess Astrid of Sweden. In 1934, Baudouin's grandfather King Albert I of Belgium was killed in a rock climbing accident; Leopold became king and the three-year-old Baudouin became Duke of Braban ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fabiola De Mora Y Aragón
Doña Fabiola Fernanda María-de-las-Victoria Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón (11 June 1928 – 5 December 2014) was Queen of the Belgians from her marriage to King Baudouin in 1960 until his death in 1993. The couple had no children, so the Crown passed to her husband's younger brother, King Albert II. Early life Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón was born in Madrid, Spain, at the Palacio de Zurbano, the main residence of the Marqués de Casa Riera. She was the daughter of Don Gonzalo de Mora y Fernández y Riera y del Olmo, 4th Marqués de Casa Riera, 2nd Count of Mora (1887–1957), and his wife, Doña Blanca de Aragón y Carrillo de Albornoz y Barroeta-Aldamar y Elío (1892–1981), daughter of the 6th Marchioness of Casa Torres and Viscountess of Baiguer. Her godmother was Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. Queen Fabiola is the fifth child and had six siblings. One of her siblings was Jaime de Mora y Aragón. She worked as a nurse in a hospital in Madrid and lived ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Of The Belgians
Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's head of state. There have been seven kings since independence in 1830. The incumbent, Philippe, ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following the abdication of his father Albert II. Origins When the Belgians became independent in 1830 the National Congress chose a constitutional monarchy as the form of government. The Congress voted on the question on 22 November 1830, supporting monarchy by 174 votes to 13. In February 1831, the Congress nominated Louis, Duke of Nemours, the son of the French king Louis-Philippe, but international considerations deterred Louis-Philippe from accepting the honor for his son. Following this refusal, the National Congress appointed Erasme-Louis, Baron Surlet de Chokier to be the Regent of Belgium on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colonial rule in the Congo began in the late 19th century. King Leopold II of the Belgians attempted to persuade the Belgian government to support colonial expansion around the then-largely unexploited Congo Basin. Their ambivalence resulted in Leopold's establishing a colony himself. With support from a number of Western countries, Leopold achieved international recognition of the Congo Free State in 1885. By the turn of the century, the violence used by Free State officials against indigenous Congolese and a ruthless system of economic exploitation led to intense diplomatic pressure on Belgium to take official control of the country, which it did by creating the Belgian Congo in 1908. Belgian rule in the Congo was based on the "colonial tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Leopold III
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad. Leopold's act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet, who moved to London to form a government-in-exile, while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, and under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin in July 1951. Leopold's first wife, Astrid of Sweden, was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leopold III Of Belgium
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasion in May 1940, he surrendered his country, earning him much hostility, both at home and abroad. Leopold's act was declared unconstitutional by Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot and his cabinet, who moved to London to form a government-in-exile, while Leopold and his family were placed under house arrest. In 1944, they were moved to Germany and then Austria, before being liberated by the Americans, but banned for some years from returning to Belgium, where his brother Prince Charles, Count of Flanders, had been declared regent. Leopold's eventual return to his homeland in 1950 nearly caused a civil war, and under pressure from the government, he abdicated in favour of his son Baudouin in July 1951. Leopold's first wife, Astrid of Sweden, was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert II Of Belgium
, house = Belgium , father = Leopold III of Belgium , mother = Astrid of Sweden , birth_date = , birth_place = Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium , death_date = , death_place = , signature = Albert II of Belgium Signature.svg , religion = Roman Catholicism Albert II, ; nl, Albert Felix Humbert Theodoor Christiaan Eugène Marie, ; german: Albrecht Felix Humbert Theodor Christian Eugen Maria, (born 6 June 1934) is a member of the Belgian royal family who reigned as King of the Belgians from 9 August 1993 to 21 July 2013. Albert II is the son of King Leopold III and the last living child of Queen Astrid, born a princess of Sweden. He is the younger brother of the late Grand Duchess Joséphine-Charlotte of Luxembourg and King Baudouin, whom he succeeded upon Baudouin's death in 1993. He married Donna Paola Ruffo di Calabria (now Queen Paola), with whom he had three children. Albert's eldest son, Philippe of Belgium, Philippe, is the current King ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astrid Of Sweden
Astrid of Sweden (17 November 1905 – 29 August 1935) was the Queen of the Belgians and the first wife of King Leopold III. Originally a princess of Sweden of the House of Bernadotte, Astrid became the Duchess of Brabant after her marriage to Leopold in November 1926. She was Queen of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until her death. Her charity work revolved around women, children, and disadvantaged people. Astrid's only daughter, Joséphine-Charlotte, later became Grand Duchess consort of Luxembourg, while both her sons reigned as King of the Belgians. Astrid was also a sister of Crown Princess Märtha of Norway (wife of King Olav V) and a maternal aunt of King Harald V of Norway. Early life Princess Astrid was born on 17 November 1905, at the ''Arvfurstens Palats'' in Stockholm. She was the third child and youngest daughter of Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland, and his wife, Princess Ingeborg of Denmark. Her father was the third son of Oscar II, King of Sweden and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Luc Dehaene
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene (; 7 August 1940 – 15 May 2014) was a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1992 until 1999. During his political career, he was nicknamed "The Plumber" and "The Minesweeper" for his ability to negotiate political deadlocks. A member of the ''Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams'' (CD&V) party and its antecedents, Dehaene gained his first ministerial appointment in 1981. Dehaene's first government (1992–1995) included both Christian and Social Democrats and presided over the creation of a new constitution, effectively transforming Belgium into a Federalism, federal state. His second government (1995–1999) coincided with a number of crises in Belgium including the Marc Dutroux, Dutroux scandal. The Dioxin Affair, occurring shortly before the 1999 election, led to a swing against the major parties and Dehaene's government fell. Following his final term as Prime Minister he was active in both Belgian and Europea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaston Eyskens
Gaston François Marie, viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served three terms as the prime minister of Belgium, holding the position from 1949 to 1950, 1958 to 1961 and 1968 to 1973. During his periods in office, Eyskens was confronted with major ideological and linguistic conflicts within Belgium including the Royal Question in 1950, the School War in 1958, the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960 and the split of the University of Leuven in 1970. He oversaw the first steps towards the federalization of Belgium (constitutional reform of 1970). Family Eyskens was born in Lier, the son of Antonius Franciscus Eyskens (1875–1948) and Maria Voeten (1872–1960). On 10 August 1931 he married Gilberte Depetter (1902–1981), with whom he had two sons: Erik Eyskens (Leuven 20 July 1935 – Antwerpen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region (within which it forms an enclave) and the Walloon Region. Brussels is the most densely populated region in Belgium, and although it has the highest GDP per capita, it has the lowest available income per household. The Brussels Region covers , a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of over 1.2 million. The five times larger metropolitan area of Brusse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Harmel
Pierre Charles José Marie, Count Harmel (16 March 1911 – 15 November 2009) was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat. Harmel served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1965 to 1966. Early life He was born in Uccle, son of father Charles Harmel and mother Eusibie André.Pierre Harmel (1911–2009) – website ODIS ('''') He studied law at the (), where he obtained the titles of |
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