Events in the year 1986 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. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

: 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 i ...

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

;January * 1 January – Breakout of 14 inmates from

Arlon Arlon (; lb, Arel ; nl, Aarlen ; german: Arel ; wa, Årlon; la, Orolaunum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in and capital of the province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes, Belgium. With a population of just over 28,000, it is th ...

prison.Alain de Gueldre et al., ''Kroniek van België'' (Antwerp and Zaventem, 1987). * 25 January – About 3,000

gendarmes Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "men-at-arms" (literally, " ...

demonstrate in Brussels for better working conditions. ;February * 5 February – Publication of a report into working practices in the Belgian postal service reveals massive inefficiency. ;March * 17 March –

Albert Houssiau Albert Jean Charles Ghislain Houssiau (born 2 November 1924) is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Liège from 1986 to 2001.

appointed

bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

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 ...

;April * 12 April – About 20,000 march in Hasselt to demand that Limburg's mines be kept open. * 15 April – Prime Minister

and Deputy Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt lay the first stone of the

Flanders Expo Flanders Expo is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in Ghent, Flanders, Belgium. Flanders Expo was founded in 1986 and officially opened in May 1987 with the third edition of Flanders Technology International. It serves as a ven ...

convention centre in Ghent. * 29 April – R.W.D. Molenbeek football club goes into receivership. ;May * 3 May –

Sandra Kim Sandra Caldarone (born 15 October 1972), better known as Sandra Kim, is a Belgian singer of Italian descent who won the Eurovision Song Contest 1986. Her father was an Italian immigrant from Torrebruna in the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo re ...

wins the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song " La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcast ...

singing "

J'aime la vie "J'aime la vie" (; "I Love Life") was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed for by Sandra Kim. Belgium had finished the 1985 contest in last place, and thus achieved the rare turnaround from last to first in the space o ...

". * 18 May –

Albert Houssiau Albert Jean Charles Ghislain Houssiau (born 2 November 1924) is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of Liège from 1986 to 2001.

consecrated bishop of Liège * 29 May – The

Flag of Europe The Flag of Europe or European Flag consists of twelve golden stars forming a circle on a blue field. It was designed and adopted in 1955 by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a symbol for the whole of Europe. Since 1985, the flag has also been ...

first flown in front of the

Commission of the European Communities The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

in Brussels. * 30 May – About 50,000 protest against government austerity measures in a demonstration organised by the

General Federation of Belgian Labour The General Labour Federation of Belgium (french: Fédération Générale du Travail de Belgique, or FGTB; nl, Algemeen Belgisch Vakverbond, ABVV) is a socialist national trade union federation in Belgium. It was founded in 1945. It is affiliated ...

. ;June * 25 June – Former prime minister

Paul Vanden Boeynants Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants (; 22 May 1919 – 9 January 2001) was a Belgian politician.
Rulers. Retrieved 30 August 2014.< ...

convicted of fraud. * 30 June – Massive public celebration of the return of the Belgium national football team after placing fourth in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. ;October * 12 October – Renovated

La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...

opera house reopens with a performance of ''

Beethoven's Ninth Symphony The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and musi ...

''. * 18 October – Interior Minister

Charles-Ferdinand Nothomb Baron Charles-Ferdinand N. M. P. Nothomb (born 3 May 1936) is a French-speaking Belgian politician. He is a member of the Humanist Democratic Centre (cdH). He served as Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1980 until 1981, and as Minister ...

resigns in protest over the government's stance on the language struggle in Voeren. * 26 October – German-speaking Community Council election ;November * 14 November –

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

receives the

Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren The Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren (''Dutch Literature Prize'') is awarded every three years to an author from the Netherlands, Belgium or, since 2005, Suriname writing in Dutch. It is considered the most prestigious literary award in the Dutch-sp ...

for '' The Sorrow of Belgium''. ;December * 12 December – A bank robber shot by police in Anderlecht turns out to be a policeman himself.

Publications

;Reference series * ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

'', vol. 44 (supplement 16). *

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, ''Economic Surveys, 1985/1986: Belgium, Luxembourg'' ;Books * Jonathan E. Helmreich, ''Gathering Rare Ores: The Diplomacy of Uranium Acquisition, 1943–1954'' (Princeton University Press)

Art and architecture

;Films * Chantal Akerman (dir.), ''

Golden Eighties ''Golden Eighties'' (also known as ''Window Shopping'') is a 1986 Musical film, musical comedy film co-written and directed by Chantal Akerman. The film explores themes such as consumerism, feminism, and Jews, Jewish identity through the lens of ...

Births

* 13 February – Sylvie De Caluwé, model * 21 February –

Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este Prince Amedeo of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este (Amedeo Marie Joseph Carl Pierre Philippe Paola Marcus d'Aviano; born 21 February 1986) is a grandson of King Albert II of Belgium, and thus a member of the Belgian royal family. He is also ...

* 13 March –

Ludovic Buysens Ludovic Buysens (born 13 March 1986) is a Belgian footballer who is currently playing for Olsa Brakel in the Belgian Third Amateur Division The Belgian Division 3, commonly referred to as simply Derde Afdeling (in Dutch) or Division 3 (in Fr ...

, footballer * 20 April – Onur Kaya, footballer * 1 August – Michaël Van Geele, footballer * 15 October –

, singer * 22 October – Murat Akın, footballer * 3 December –

Annelien Coorevits Annelien Coorevits (born 1986) is a Belgian TV-presenter and model (Miss Belgium 2007). She represented her country in Miss Universe 2007 but didn't place. She lives in Wijtschate. Annelien Coorevits is married to Anderlecht-soccer player Olivi ...

, beauty queen

Deaths

* 7 February –

Armand Preud'homme Armand Preud'homme (21 February 1904, in Peer, Belgium, Peer – 7 February 1986, in Brasschaat) was a Belgian componist and organist. Biography Preud'homme studied at the Limburg Organ and Singing School in Hasselt with Arthur Meulemans and at ...

, composer * 3 April – Charles Moeller, scholar * 2 June – Daniel Sternefeld, conductor * 6 July –

Flor Peeters Franciscus Florentinus Peeters, Baron Peeters (4 July 1903 – 4 July 1986) was a Belgian composer, organist and academic teacher. He was director of the Conservatorium in Antwerp, Belgium, and organist at Mechelen Cathedral from 1923 to his deat ...

, organist * 23 August – Charles Janssens, actor * 5 October – Jozef van Overstraeten, founder of the Flemish automobile association * 16 October –

Arthur Grumiaux Baron Arthur Grumiaux (; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian violinist, considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful t ...

, violinist * 16 December – Marcel Quinet, composer * 27 December – Louis Van Lint, painter * 28 December – Karel Aerts, director of the

BRT BRT may refer to: Transportation * Block register territory, a method for dispatching trains * British Rail Telecommunications * Brookhaven Rail Terminal * Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, a former transit holding company in New York City * Bro ...

References

{{Year in Europe, 1986 1980s in Belgium 20th century in Belgium Events in Belgium Deaths in Belgium