Events in the year 1985 in

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 th ...

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

: Baudouin *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Wilfried Martens Wilfried Achiel Emma Martens (; 19 April 1936 – 9 October 2013) was a Belgian politician who served as prime minister of Belgium from 1979 to 1981 and from 1981 to 1992. A member of the Flemish Christian People's Party, during his premiership ...

Events

* 15 January –

Communist Combatant Cells Cellules Communistes Combattantes (CCC; Communist Combatant Cells, also known as Fighting Communist Cells) was a Communist Belgian urban guerrilla organization. The cells were active for less than two years in the mid-1980s; primarily engaged in ...

(CCC) bomb the

Federation of Belgian Enterprises The Federation of Enterprises in Belgium ( nl, Verbond van Belgische Ondernemingen, VBO, french: Fédération des Entreprises de Belgique, FEB) is the only Belgian non-profit organization representing companies in all three regions of Belgium. Its ...

, killing two firemen and wounding others. * 3 February –

Roger Vangheluwe Roger Joseph Vangheluwe (born 7 November 1936) is the former Bishop of Bruges. He gained notoriety after admitting to having sexually abused two nephews over the course of a 15-year period while serving first as a priest and then as bishop, thoug ...

consecrated as

bishop of Bruges The Diocese of Bruges (in Dutch Bisdom Brugge) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Belgium. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan Arch ...

by Cardinal

Godfried Danneels Godfried Maria Jules Danneels (4 June 1933 – 14 March 2019) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and the chairman of the episcopal conference of his native countr ...

* 16 to 21 May –

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visits Belgium * 29 May –

Heysel Stadium disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster ( it, Strage dell'Heysel ; german: link=no, Katastrophe von Heysel ; french: Drame du Heysel ; nl, Heizeldrama ) was a crowd disaster that occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by ...

* 15 September –

Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One List of Formula One World Drivers' Champions, World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers fro ...

wins the

1985 Belgian Grand Prix The 1985 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 15 September 1985. It was the thirteenth round of the 1985 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race was the 43rd Belgian Grand Prix, the 31st to be held at ...

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

* 27 September –

Brabant killers The Brabant killers, also named the Nivelles Gang in Dutch-speaking media ( nl, De Bende van Nijvel), and the mad killers of Brabant in French-speaking media (french: Les Tueurs fous du Brabant), are responsible for a series of violent attacks tha ...

carry out armed robberies in

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (includ ...

and

Overijse Overijse () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. It is a suburb of the wider Brussels metropolitan area. The municipality comprises the town of Overijse, and the communities of Eizer, Maleizen, Jezus-Eik, T ...

, killing eight. * 8 October to 5 November – CCC firebomb a series of companies * 13 October –

General elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

* 9 November –

carry out an armed robbery in Aalst, killing eight. * 6 December ** CCC attack NATO pipeline in

Wortegem-Petegem Wortegem-Petegem () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. In 2021, Wortegem-Petegem had a total population of 6,445. The total area is 41.96 km2. Villages , Moregem, , Petegem-aan-de-Schelde Petegem-aan-de-Sche ...

** Liège law court bombing

Publications

* T. Luykx and M. Platel, ''Politieke geschiedenis van België van 1944 tot 1985'' (2 vols., Antwerp, Kluwer).

Art and architecture

;Films *

Hugo Claus Hugo Maurice Julien Claus (; 5 April 1929 – 19 March 2008) was a leading Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, and poetry; he also l ...

(dir.), ''De Leeuw van Vlaanderen'' *

Nicole Van Goethem Nicole Van Goethem (31 May 1941 - 3 March 2000) was a Belgian animator and illustrator. She wrote and directed ''A Greek Tragedy'', winner of the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1987. Biography Van Goethem was born in 1941 in Antwerp ...

(dir.), ''

A Greek Tragedy ''A Greek Tragedy'' is a 1985 Belgian animated short film written and directed by Nicole Van Goethem about three lady statues holding on to the remains of an ancient building. Accolades The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film ...

Births

* 5 January –

Bart Goossens Bart Goosens (born 5 January 1985) is a Belgian professional footballer who currently plays for Lommel in the Belgian Second Division, as a defender. His previous teams include Gent and Roeselare, with which he played in the Belgian Pro League ...

, footballer * 1 February –

Tim De Meersman Tim De Meersman (born 1 February 1985) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career De Meersman was born in Dendermonde, and played youth football with Germinal Beerschot. After playing for Dutch clubs Vitesse and F ...

, footballer * 5 February –

Tatiana Silva Tatiana Silva Braga Tavares (born 5 February 1985) is a Belgian model who was crowned Miss Belgium in 2005. She entered the pageant as Miss Brussels and represented Belgium at the Miss World contest in December 2005. Early life in Belgium Tati ...

, beauty queen * 15 February –

Sara Peeters Sara Peeters (born 15 February 1985) is a former Belgian racing cyclist. She finished in second place in the Belgian National Road Race Championships The Belgian National Road Race Championship is a cycling race which decides who will become B ...

, cyclist * 12 March –

Stromae Paul van Haver (; born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae (), is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer. He is mostly known for his music blending hip hop and electronic music. Stromae came to wide public attenti ...

, musician and producer * 16 March –

Saskia Bricmont Saskia Bricmont (born 16 March 1985) is a Belgian politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019. Political career In parliament, Bricmont serves on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (since 2 ...

, politician * 20 June –

Dieter Vanthourenhout Dieter Vanthourenhout (born 20 June 1985 in Bruges) is a Belgian professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He is the brother of racing cyclist Michael Vanthourenhout. Vanthourenhout will retire from cycling at ...

, cyclist * 5 August –

Joeri Calleeuw Joeri Calleeuw (born 5 August 1985 in Bruges) is a Belgian cyclist, who last rode for amateur team Wielerteam Decock–Van Eyck–Devos–Capoen. Major results ;2008 : 1st Overall Tour du Sénégal ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stages ...

, cyclist * 14 September –

Stijn Neirynck Stijn Neirynck (born 14 September 1985 in Tielt) is a Belgian former cyclist. He rode for for his entire career, which his cousin, Yves Lampaert, also rode for. Major results ;2006 : 3rd Paris–Tours Espoirs ;2007 : 3rd Internationale Wielertr ...

, cyclist * 25 September –

Nicolas Achten Nicolas Achten (born 25 September 1985, in Brussels) is a Belgian conductor, singer, lutenist, and harpist mainly working in historically informed performance. Achten is a visiting professor at the University of East Anglia The Universi ...

, musician * 10 October –

Dominique Cornu Dominique Cornu (born 10 October 1985) is a Belgian retired road and track cyclist from Flanders, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2015. He specialised in the time trial discipline. Career Cornu was born in Beveren. At the 2006 Worl ...

, cyclist * 5 December **

Mehdi Dehbi Mehdi Dehbi (born 5 December 1985) is a Belgian actor and theatre director, known for his roles in ' (2009, English title: ''He is My Girl''), ' (2011), '' Le Fils de l'Autre'' (2012, English title: ''The Other Son''), ''Mary Queen of Scots'' (20 ...

, actor and theatre director **

Nico Verdonck Nicolas Verdonck (born 5 December 1985) is a Belgian racing driver. He was born in Brussels. Career Formula Renault Verdonck competed in Formula Renault 1600 in 2003, his first year in single seaters. His race engineer was Tim Wright. Formula 3 ...

, racing driver * 22 December –

Aurora Marion Aurora Marion (born 22 December 1985) is a Belgian stage and film actress. She began working in theatre after developing an interest in acting, before making her film debut in ''Almayer's Folly (film), Almayer's Folly'' (2011), which earned her a ...

, actress

Deaths

* 2 February –

Lucien Cooremans Lucien Georges François Philippe Cooremans (1 September 1899 – 22 February 1985) was a Belgian liberal politician and burgomaster of Brussels. Lucien Cooremans was a lawyer, journalist and professor at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. As ...

(born 1899), politician * 18 July –

Louisa Ghijs Ludovica "Louisa" Ghijs (19 March 1902 – 18 July 1985) was a Belgian Stage (theatre), stage actress. She was married to Dutch-German actor Johannes Heesters. Ghijs met Heesters in 1928, they married in 1930, and had two daughters Wiesje (19 ...

(born 1902), actress * 17 June –

Pieter De Somer Pieter De Somer (22 December 1917 – 17 June 1985) was a Belgian physician and biologist. He studied medicine from 1935 up to 1942 at the Catholic University of Leuven (Leuven, Belgium). He did research and later became a professor at the Depar ...

(born 1917), scientist * 10 October – Alice Melin (born 1900), politician * 29 October –

Alice Roberts Alice May Roberts (born 19 May 1973) is an English biological anthropologist, biologist, television presenter and author. Since 2012 she has been Professor of the Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham. She was President ...

(born 1906), actress * 16 November – Léon Lampo (born 1923), athlete * 9 December – François Morren (born 1899), athlete * 15 December –

Jean van den Bosch Jean van den Bosch (27 January 1910 – 15 December 1985) was a Belgian diplomat. Biography Jean van den Bosch was born on 27 January 1910 in Ghent, Belgium. He received a doctorate in law from the Université catholique de Louvain in 1931. Th ...

(born 1910), diplomat

References

{{Year in Europe, 1985 1980s in Belgium 20th century in Belgium Events in Belgium Deaths in Belgium