Events in the year 2013 in Belgium.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". 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 ...

: Albert II (until 21 July);

Philippe Philippe is a masculine given name, cognate to Philip, and sometimes also a surname. The name may refer to: * Philippe of Belgium (born 1960), King of the Belgians (2013–present) * Philippe (footballer) (born 2000), Brazilian footballer * Prince ...

(from 21 July) *

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Elio Di Rupo Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who served as the prime minister of Belgium from 2011 to 2014, heading the Di Rupo Government, and as minister-president of Wallonia for three non-consecutive terms between 1999 and 20 ...

Events

*January 1:

Bart De Wever Bart Albert Liliane De Wever (; born 21 December 1970) is a Belgian author, historian and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Belgium since February 2025. From 2004 to 2025, De Wever had been the leader of the New Flemish Allianc ...

(

New Flemish Alliance The New Flemish Alliance ( ; N-VA) is a Flemish Movement, Flemish nationalist, Conservatism, conservative Political parties in Belgium, political party in Belgium. The party was established in 2001 by the right-leaning faction of the centrist-na ...

) becomes mayor of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. *January 6:

Noémie Happart Noémie Happart (born 1 June 1993) is a Belgian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Belgium 2013. She represented her country at Miss Universe 2013 and Miss World 2013. Miss Belgium 2013 Noemie Happart, then a student at U ...

crowned Miss Belgium 2013. *January 13: Following accusations of tax evasion, Belgium's Dowager

Queen Fabiola of Belgium Fabiola Fernanda María-de-las-Victorias Antonia Adelaida de Mora y Aragón (11 June 1928 – 5 December 2014) was Queen of the Belgians as the wife of King Baudouin from their marriage in 1960 until his death in 1993. The couple had no child ...

has her annual allowance cut by over 400,000 pounds. *February 9: Five people killed in a plane crash at

Charleroi airport Brussels South Charleroi Airport (BSCA), informally called Brussels-Charleroi Airport, Charleroi Brussels-South or Charleroi Airport , is an international airport located in Gosselies, part of the city of Charleroi, Belgium. The airport is no ...

. The airport was closed shortly after the crash. *February 21: 30,000 angry workers take to the streets of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to demonstrate against government austerity plans. *May 4: During a railway accident in

Wetteren Wetteren () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders, comprising the towns of , and Wetteren proper. In 2021 it had a population of 26,206. Its total area is 36.68 km2. Educational institutions * GemeenschapsonderwijNo ...

several tank cars filled with

acrylonitrile Acrylonitrile is an organic compound with the formula and the structure . It is a colorless, volatile liquid. It has a pungent odor of garlic or onions. Its molecular structure consists of a vinyl group () linked to a nitrile (). It is an im ...

explode. *May 19:

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

draw against Zulte Waregem to win the

Jupiler Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023� ...

. *May 21:

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club

Beerschot AC Koninklijke Beerschot Antwerpen Club (), simply known as Beerschot AC, was a Belgian football club based in southern Antwerp. Beerschot played in the Belgian Pro League from 1999–2000 (as Germinal Beerschot) until 2012–13, when they were ...

declared bankrupt by the Court of Commerce. *May 30:

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

accepts the resignation of Aloys Jousten as

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

*July 3: King Albert II announces his pending abdication in favour of his son

. *July 14: Jean-Pierre Delville consecrated as bishop of Liège *July 21: King Albert II abdicates in favour of his son, King

. *July 25: First official heatwave in Belgium since the

2006 European heat wave The 2006 European heat wave was a period of exceptionally hot weather that arrived at the end of June 2006 in certain European countries. The United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic ...

. *August 25:

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...

wins the 2013 Belgian Grand Prix. *October 6: Samson Kiptoo Bunge wins the Marathon of

in 2:15.49. *October 8:

François Englert François, Baron Englert (; born 6 November 1932) is a Belgian theoretical physicist and 2013 Nobel Prize laureate. Englert is professor emeritus at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), where he is a member of the Service de Physique Thé ...

and Briton

Peter Higgs Peter Ware Higgs (29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024) was a British theoretical physicist, professor at the University of Edinburgh,Griggs, Jessica (Summer 2008The Missing Piece ''Edit'' the University of Edinburgh Alumni Magazine, p. 17 and Nobel ...

awarded the Nobel prize for Physics. *October 12: Popgroup

Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...

make a comeback with the song "Vliegtuig" in the Ultratop 50. *October 19: Ten parachutists and a pilot die in a plane crash shortly after take-off. *December 3: Three heavy pile-ups occur on the A19 motorway due to fog *December 7:

Veerle Baetens Veerle Baetens (born 24 January 1978) is a Belgian actress, filmmaker, and singer best known for her lead role as Elise / Alabama in the romantic drama film '' The Broken Circle Breakdown'' (2012), for which she won the Tribeca Film Festival Aw ...

wins the

European Film Award The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the most ...

for Best Actress. '' Death of a Shadow'' wins in the category Best Short Film.

Sports

*February 27:

Ellen van Dijk Eleonora Maria "Ellen" van Dijk (; born 11 February 1987) is a Dutch professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Team, UCI Women's WorldTeam . Besides road cycling she was also a track cycling, tr ...

wins 2013 Le Samyn des Dames *August 23–26:

wins 2013 Lotto-Belisol Belgium Tour

Deaths

* 4 January – Amanda Stassart, 89, member of the

Resistance during World War II During World War II, resistance movements operated in German-occupied Europe by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation to propaganda, hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns. In many countries, r ...

and

air hostess A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

* 6 January – Bart Van den Bossche, Flemish singer, actor and radio and television presenter * 30 January –

Roger Raveel Roger Henri Kamiel, Knight Raveel (15 July 1921 – 30 January 2013) was a Belgian painter, whose work is often associated with pop art because of its depiction of everyday objects. Raveel's style evolved throughout his career, from abstract to ...

, 91, Belgian painter * 13 February –

Robert Senelle Robert Senelle (8 September 1918 – 13 February 2013) was a Belgian academic and constitutionalist. Biography Senelle was born in the at that time still quite Flemish north Brussels suburb of Schaerbeek, and grew up in nearby Vilvoorde. He st ...

, 94, Belgian academic and

constitutionalist Constitutionalism is "a compound of ideas, attitudes, and patterns of behavior elaborating the principle that the authority of government derives from and is limited by a body of fundamental law". Political organizations are constitutional to ...

* 23 February –

Julien Ries Julien Ries (19 April 1920 – 23 February 2013) was a Belgian religious historian, titular archbishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church. Prior to his death, Ries was described as "the greatest living religious scholar". Life Born in ...

, 92, Belgian religious historian, titular archbishop and cardinal of the Catholic Church * 23 February –

Maurice Rosy Maurice Rosy (17 November 1927 – 23 February 2013), was a Belgian comics writer who also worked as artistic director of '' Spirou'' magazine during its golden period. Biography Rosy was born in Fontaine-l'Évêque. He was employed by Char ...

, 85, Belgian comics writer * 6 March - Ward de Ravet, 88, Belgian actor * 7 March - Didier Comès, 70, Belgian comics artist * 14 March - François Narmon, 79, Belgian businessman and president of Dexia Group and the

Belgian Olympic Committee Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

* 14 March - Vic Nees, 77, Flemish composer, choral conductor, musicologist, and music educator * 17 March - François Sermon, 89, Belgian footballer * 4 May -

Christian de Duve Christian René Marie Joseph, Viscount de Duve (2 October 1917 – 4 May 2013) was a Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cytologist and biochemist. He made serendipitous discoveries of two cell organelles, peroxisomes and lysosomes, for which he sh ...

, 95,

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-winning Belgian

cytologist Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living an ...

and

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

* 4 May -

Jacques Stockman Jacques "Jacky" Stockman (8 October 1938 – 4 May 2013) was a Belgian football player who played as a striker. He played most of his career for R.S.C. Anderlecht and was selected 32 times for Belgium. Club career Stockman started with the ...

, 74, Belgian footballer * 13 May - André Denys, 65, Belgian politician, Governor of the province of

East Flanders East Flanders ( ; ; ; ) is a Provinces of Belgium, province of Belgium. It borders (clockwise from the North) the Netherlands, Dutch province of Zeeland and the Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp, Flemish Brabant, Hainaut (provinc ...

* 25 June -

Raymond Trousson Raymond Trousson (June 11, 1936 – June 25, 2013) was a Belgian literary historian, professor emeritus at Free University of Brussels and member of the Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium. His interests were focused on the ...

, 77, Belgian

literary historian The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry that attempt to provide entertainment or education to the reader, as well as the development of the literary techniques used in the communication of these pie ...

* 28 June -

Jacques Planchard Jacques Planchard (May 1929 – 28 June 2013) was a Belgian politician, born in Virton. He was the Governor of Luxembourg (Belgium)#List of governors, Governor of Luxembourg (1976–1996).Belgian Luxembourg * 1 July - Armand Baeyens, 85,

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most com ...

* 31 July - Michel Donnet, 96, Belgian pilot who served in the

Belgian Army The Land Component (, ), historically and commonly still referred to as the Belgian Army (, ), is the Land warfare, land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land ...

and British Royal Air Force during the World War II * 10 September - Anne-Sylvie Mouzon, 57, Belgian politician * 11 September - Fernand Boone, 79, Belgian

football goalkeeper The goalkeeper (sometimes written as goal-keeper, abbreviated as GK, keeper, keeps, or goalie) is a position in association football. It is the most specialised position in the sport. The goalkeeper's main role is to stop the opposing team from ...

* 17 September - Pierre Macq, 83,

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

* 23 September - Hugo Raes, 84,

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

* 9 October –

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 Democratic and Flemish, Christian People ...

, 77, former

Prime Minister of Belgium The prime minister of Belgium (; ; ) or the premier of Belgium is the head of the federal government of Belgium, and the most powerful person in Belgian politics. The first head of government in Belgian history was Henri van der Noot in 179 ...

* 20 October – Thomas Blondeau, 35, Flemish writer, poet and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

* 15 November – Félix Geybels, 77, footballer * 30 November –

Tabu Ley Rochereau Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a Congolese rumba singer and musician. He was the leader of ''Orchestre Afrisa International'', as well as one of Africa's most influe ...

, 73, Congolese

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

singer and musician * 1 December –

Dany Vandenbossche Dany Vandenbossche (2 April 1956 – 1 December 2013) was a Belgian politician. As a member of the sp.a, he served from 1999 to 2009 in the Flemish Parliament.2013 in Belgian television This is a list of Belgian television related events from 2013. Events *11 January - Figure skater Kevin van der Perren and his partner Charissa van Dipte win the fifth and final season of ''Sterren op de Dansvloer''. *3 May - Paulien Mathues w ...

2013 in the European Union Events in the year 2013 in the European Union. 2013 was designated as: * European Year of Citizens Incumbents * President of the European Council – Herman Van Rompuy * Commission President – José Manuel Barroso * Council Presidency ...

References

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

2010s in Belgium Years of the 21st century in Belgium

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