Belgian Economic Mission to Seattle & Vancouver 8-14 March 2008 Organised by the regional institutions for Foreign Trade (Brussels Export, Flanders Investment & Trade - FIT, the Wallonia Foreign Trade and Investment Agency - AWEX) and the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency 3 His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium HRH Prince Philippe was born on 15 April 1960 in Brussels, Belgium, as first child of Japan and Brazil (2005), South Africa, the Federation of Russia, Canada and Bulgaria & HM King Albert II and HM Queen Paola. He is first in the line of succession to the throne Romania (2006), China and Bahrain & Qatar (2007). of Belgium and, as such, he bears the title of Duke of Brabant. On 3 May 2003, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Board of the On the 4th of December 1999, the Prince married Miss Mathilde d’Udekem d’Acoz. Foreign Trade Agency, replacing the BFTB. On the 25th of October 2001 Princess Mathilde gave birth to a daughter, Princess On June 21, 1994 he became a member of the Senate. Elisabeth. Her brother Prince Gabriel was born on the 20th of August 2003. On the 4th of October 2005, Princess Mathilde gave birth to her third child, Prince Emmanuel. In addition to his various official duties, Prince Philippe concentrates on gaining more in-depth knowledge of his country, its role and its image in the world and in international At the end of secondary school, which he attended both in French and in Dutch, the relations. Prince continued his education at the Royal Military Academy from which he graduated in 1981. He then subsequently qualified as fighter pilot (1982) and as a paratrooper- and The Prince is keenly interested in the situation of young people and their integration in commando officer before assuming command over a paratrooper platoon. He now holds the society of tomorrow. He therefore visits schools and universities, but also follows the rank of Major-General in the Armed Forces (2001). closely various social issues such as unemployment and the struggle against poverty and exclusion. Prince Philippe completed his academic training at Trinity College, University of Oxford (UK) and at the Graduate School of Stanford University (USA) where he took a In May 1997, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary Chairman of the Belgian Federal “Master of Arts Degree” in political science in 1985. Council for Sustainable Development, created after the Conference of Rio. The Prince holds an Honorary Doctorate of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (conferred In 1998 the Prince Philippe Fund was created, with the aim of fostering exchanges in 2002). between citizens or organisations from all three Communities of our country. As a result of the increasing number of commitments, the “Household of Prince Philippe” In 2003, Prince Philippe became Honorary Chairman of BIO (Belgian Investment was created in 1992. Company for Developing Countries). On August 6, 1993, by Government decision, Prince Philippe was appointed Honorary Since 2004, Prince Philippe is also Honorary Chairman of the European Chapter of the Chairman of the Belgian Foreign Trade Board (BFTB). He succeeded to his father, who had Club of Rome and of the International Polar Foundation. been Honorary Chairman of the BFTB since 1962. In this capacity, Prince Philippe has In May 2004, Prince Philippe obtained his licence as a civilian helicopter pilot. He spends headed more than forty important economic missions, of which the most recent are his rare leisure moments at home with his family and also likes to read, especially on Malaysia, Chile, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia & Kuwait, Australia & New-Zealand (2002), subjects related to the problems and challenges confronting men and women in today's Mexico & California, Vietnam and Poland (2003), United Arab Emirates & the Sultanate society. He practises sports regularly and is keen to maintain a healthy physical of Oman, Turkey, Algeria & Tunisia and the People's Republic of China (2004), India, condition. 4 His Royal Highness Prince PHILIPPE of Belgium 5 Born in Overmere on January 27, 1954 Resident in Berlare, Oost-Vlaanderen Educational background Political career Master in Law, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (1976) Mayor of Berlare (2006- ) Minister of Foreign Affairs (2004- ) Secondary school education: Latin-Mathematics, Member of Parliament (2003- ) Royal Atheneum Aalst (1971) Minister of State (2002- ) Member of the European Parliament (1980-1994) National President VLD (1999-2004 ) Mandates Member of the Flemish Parliament (1995-2003) Senator (1994-1995) Lawyer Honourable Member of the local Council of Berlare (1989- ) Professor European Law VUB National vice-President PVV (1985-1988) Member of Parliament Alderman of Finance in Lebbeke (1983-1988) Minister for Foreign Affairs National President Liberal Youth (1977-1979) Member of the party executive PVV/VLD (1977- ) President National Liberal Student Union (1975-1977) President Liberal Student Union Brussels (1974-1975) 6 HE Karel DE GUCHT Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs 7 Born in Edegem, Belgium on April 29, 1941 Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Budget since 2003 Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs UNIVERSITY DEGREES Secretary of State for Development Cooperation (1983-1985) Minister of Defense (1985-1988) Bachelor of Economics and of Applied Economics (Un. of Louvain-la- Mayor of the City of Brussels (1995-2000) Neuve, Belgium) Minister-President of the Brussels- Capital Region - also in charge of Scientific MBA (U. of California, Berkeley) Research (2000-2003) Ph.D. in Economics (Erasmus Universiteit, Rotterdam) 2. International organizations PRESENT FUNCTIONS AND ACTIVITIES Member of the European Parliament (1989-1991) Minister of State (Member of the Crown Council) President of the EU Council of Ministers on Research during the Belgian Member of the Belgian House of Representatives; Chairman of the Committee Presidency of July-December 2001 on Finance and Budget; Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs President of the Belgian delegation to the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) Head of the Belgian delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (2003-2007) Vice- President and Former President of the Belgian delegation to the Rapporteur of the First Standing Committee (Peace and International Security) Inter-parliamentary Union of IPU in 2005-2006, on the trafficking of small arms and light weapons Chairman of MEDEA (Research Institute on Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue). and Rapporteur of the Second Standing Committee (Sustainable Develop - Member of the Board of the Royal Institute for International Relations ment, Finance and Trade) in 2007-2008, on “Parliamentary Oversight of (Belgium) State Policies on Foreign Aid” Member of the Strategic Council of the “Université Saint Joseph”, Bey - Chairman, on behalf of Belgium, of the 62nd plenary meeting of UNECE, routh, Lebanon Geneva, spring 2007 Professor Emeritus at the University of Louvain 3. Private organizations PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE Professor of Economics and Public Management at the University of Louvain 1. Belgian Public Sector (Full time 1971-1981; part time 1982-1997)Chairman of the Board of the public television broadcast station “Télé Bruxelles” (1995-97) Member of the Belgian Parliament (I981-1989, 1991-2000 and again since Member of the Board of Crédit communal de Belgique and Crédit local de 2003) Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of France which merged into Dexia (1992-2000). Representatives (1995-1998) 8 HE François-Xavier de Donnea Minister of State 9 Born in Awans, on 16 October 1956 1974-1979: University of Liege, Juris Doctor in Law Since 1979: Attorney at the Liege Bar (On leave since 1992) 1992-1994: Director of Cabinet of the Walloon Regional Minister for Internal Affairs 1994-1995: Director of Cabinet of the Walloon Regional Minister for Internal Affairs, Civil Service and Budget 1995-1997: Director of Cabinet of the Walloon Regional Minister for Budget, Finance, Employment and Training and French Community Minister for Budget, Finance and Civil Service 1998-1999: Director of Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Telecommunications 1999-2003: Director of Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Employment 2003-2004: Director of Cabinet of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Since 2004: Minister for Economy, Employment, Foreign Trade and Heritage of the Walloon Regional Government 10 HE Jean-Claude MARCOURT Minister for Economy, Employment, Foreign Trade and Heritage of the Walloon Regional Government 11 Born in Maaseik on 5 June 1965 Education In 1988 Patricia Ceysens graduated at the Catholic University of Leuven with a Masters in Law. Additionally she received a certificate in 1991 of marketing manager. Professional experience: From 1988 until 1999 Patricia Ceysens practised Law at the Bar of Leuven. From 1990 until 1995 she specialised in Intellectual Property Law within the Law firm Loeff Claeys Verbeke (now Allen & Overy). Within the same period she lectured undergraduates at the Catholic University of Leuven (1989-1990) and was until 1999 editor-in-chief of a Flemish juridical magazine until 1999. Political career: Since 1995 Patricia Ceysens is city councillor in Leuven and for a short period of time seated she was also part of the provincial council (1995). In the same year she was elected as a Member of the Flemish Parliament. In 1999 she became chairwoman of the Commission Welfare, Health and Equal Opportunity within the Flemish Parliament, a Commission