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100 Notable alumni of Catholic University of Leuven

Updated: June 23, 2026 EliteDegrees

Catholic University of Leuven is ranked #62 in the world and #1 in Belgium by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 100 notable alumni from Catholic University of Leuven sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Catholic University of Leuven won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.

Francis Campbell

1. Francis Campbell

1970-. (aged 56)
diplomat
Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell is a British diplomat and academic. Since January 2020, he has been the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Notre Dame Australia. From 2014 to 2020, he was the Vice-Chancellor of St Mary's University, Twickenham. From 2005 to 2011, he was the British Ambassador to the Holy See. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.
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Edward Braxton

2. Edward Braxton

1944-. (aged 82)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop
Edward Kenneth Braxton is an American Catholic prelate who served Bishop of Belleville from 2005 to 2020. Braxton previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of St. Louis from 1995 to 2000 and Bishop of Lake Charles from 2000 to 2005.
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Peter Van Rompuy

3. Peter Van Rompuy

1980-. (aged 46)
politician
Peter Van Rompuy is a Belgian politician. He is the leader of the CD&V in the Flemish Parliament. On February 6, 2019, he became group leader of the CD&V in the Flemish Parliament, following the appointment of Koen Van den Heuvel to the Flemish government.
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David Ricken

4. David Ricken

1952-. (aged 74)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop
David Laurin Ricken is an American Catholic prelate who has served as the Bishop of Green Bay since 2008. He previously served as Bishop of Cheyenne from 1999 to 2008.
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Mark Coeckelbergh

5. Mark Coeckelbergh

1975-. (aged 51)
philosopher
Mark Coeckelbergh is a Belgian philosopher of technology. He is Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Vienna. He currently holds the ERA Chair at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague and is Guest Professor at WASP-HS and University of Uppsala.
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Thomas Blondeau

6. Thomas Blondeau

1978-2013 (aged 35)
poet writer journalist
Thomas Blondeau was a Flemish writer, poet and journalist. He studied literature at the University of Leuven and the University of Leiden. He wrote for newspapers including Mare, Deng, De Revisor, De Standaard and Dif.
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Frank Verstraete

7. Frank Verstraete

1972-. (aged 54)
theoretical physicist engineer physicist
Frank Verstraete is a Belgian quantum physicist who is the Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics at the Faculty of Mathematics, University of Cambridge and professor at the Faculty of Physics of Ghent University. He has worked on the interface between quantum information theory and quantum many-body physics and was an early proponent of the use of tensor networks and...
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H. Narayan Murthy

8. H. Narayan Murthy

1924-2011 (aged 87)
psychologist
Hosur Narayan Murthy was an Indian clinical psychologist, writer, philosopher, Sanskrit scholar and teacher who headed the department of clinical psychology at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) at Bangalore. He was born in the city of Bangalore in 1924 to Brahmin parents Hosur Ramaswamaiah Subba Rao and smt Rajamma. Murthy's father was an official at "Iron...
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Lode Van Hecke

9. Lode Van Hecke

1950-. (aged 76)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop
Lode Van Hecke OCSO is a Belgian Catholic prelate who was Bishop of Ghent from 2019 to 2025. He was abbot of Orval Abbey from 2007 to November 2019. A monk since 1976, he is the only Trappist ever to be appointed bishop of a Belgian diocese.
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René Stockman

10. René Stockman

1954-. (aged 72)
physician nurse philosopher
Brother Dr. René P. E. Stockman, F.C. is the Superior General of the Congregation of the Brothers of Charity from 2000 to 2024. He is a Belgian specialist in psychiatric caregiving.
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Yasmine Kherbache

11. Yasmine Kherbache

1972-. (aged 54)
lawyer politician
Yasmine Kherbache is a Belgian lawyer and politician who has been serving as a judge of the Constitutional Court since 2019. From June to December 2019, she was a member of the Chamber of Representatives. From 2014 to 2019, she was a member of the Flemish Parliament.
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Cieltje Van Achter

12. Cieltje Van Achter

1979-. (aged 47)
lawyer politician
Cieltje Van Achter is a Belgian lawyer and politician and a member of the New Flemish Alliance party.
Wouter Van Besien

13. Wouter Van Besien

1971-. (aged 55)
politician
Wouter Van Besien is a Belgian politician. From 25 October 2009 until 15 November 2014, he was the chairman of the ecologist party Groen.
Shelton Fabre

14. Shelton Fabre

1963-. (aged 63)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop
Shelton Joseph Fabre is an American Catholic prelate who has served as archbishop of Louisville in Kentucky since 2022. He previously served as bishop of Houma-Thibodaux in Louisiana from 2013 to 2022 and as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of New Orleans in Louisiana from 2007 to 2013.
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Jaak Gabriëls

15. Jaak Gabriëls

1943-2024 (aged 81)
politician
Petrus Josephus Jacobus Gabriëls was a Belgian politician and member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (VLD) (Dutch: Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten or VLD). He graduated in 1965 at the Catholic University of Leuven as Master of Philosophy and Arts. He started his political career as a Provincial Councillor for Limburg from 1974 to 1977. From 1977 till the last...
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Jeremie Vaneeckhout

16. Jeremie Vaneeckhout

1985-. (aged 41)
politician
Jeremie Vaneeckhout is a Belgian politician and co-president of Groen together with Nadia Naji.
Lodewijk Aerts

17. Lodewijk Aerts

1959-. (aged 67)
theologian Catholic bishop Catholic priest
Lode Aerts, identified also as Lodewijk Aerts, is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Bishop of Bruges since December 2016.
Luc Van den Brande

18. Luc Van den Brande

1945-. (aged 81)
university teacher lawyer politician
Luc Van den Brande is a Flemish politician, member of the CD&V and was Minister-president of Flanders from 21 January 1992 until 13 July 1999. He took the initiative to create the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB). On 6 February 2008 he became President of the European Union's Committee of the Regions for a period of two years.
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Marnix Gijsen

19. Marnix Gijsen

1899-1984 (aged 85)
actor poet writer performing artist dancer
Marnix Gijsen was a Belgian writer. His real name was Joannes Alphonsius Albertus Goris; his pseudonym relates to Marnix van Sint Aldegonde and the surname of his mother (Gijsen).
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Patricia De Martelaere

20. Patricia De Martelaere

1957-2009 (aged 52)
translator philosopher university teacher writer
Patricia De Martelaere was a Flemish philosopher, professor, author and essayist. Born in Zottegem, Belgium, her full name was Patricia Marie Madeleine Godelieve. She graduated in philosophy from the Catholic University of Leuven and then taught and lectured there and at the Catholic University of Brussels.
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Rudy Aernoudt

21. Rudy Aernoudt

1960-. (aged 66)
author economist university teacher politician
Rudy Aernoudt is a Belgian professor, writer, politician, economist and philosopher, born in Torhout. He was many times Chief of staff of the Ministers of economy and innovation both in Flanders and in Wallonia, of the Belgian Minister of economics and scientific policy and of the President of the European Economic and Social Committee, Henri Malosse. He is the only...
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Anne Provoost

22. Anne Provoost

1964-. (aged 62)
writer children's writer novelist essayist
Anne Provoost is a Flemish author.
Johan Sauwens

23. Johan Sauwens

1951-. (aged 75)
lawyer politician
Johan Sauwens is a Belgian politician from the province of Limburg.
Renaat Landuyt

24. Renaat Landuyt

1959-. (aged 67)
lawyer politician
Renaat Julien Landuyt is a Belgian socialist politician. He was a member of the former sp.a, now Vooruit.
Nathalie Muylle

25. Nathalie Muylle

1969-. (aged 57)
politician
Nathalie Muylle is a Belgian politician serving as a member of the Chamber of Representatives since 2004. From 2019 to 2020, she served as minister of labour, economy and consumer affairs.
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Rudi Pauwels

26. Rudi Pauwels

1960-. (aged 66)
pharmacologist
Rudi Pauwels is a Belgian pharmacologist and biotech entrepreneur.
Ingrid Robeyns

27. Ingrid Robeyns

1972-. (aged 54)
economist philosopher university teacher women's rights activist
Ingrid A. M. Robeyns is a Belgian/Dutch philosopher who holds the Chair in Ethics of Institutions at Utrecht University's Faculty of Humanities and the associated Ethics Institute. She is also a fellow of the Human Development and Capability Association and was elected the association's eighth president in April 2017. She is an advocate of economic limitarianism.
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Hans Kluge

28. Hans Kluge

1968-. (aged 58)
physician
Hans Henri Marcel Paul Kluge is a Belgian medical doctor and public health expert. As of 1 February 2020, he served as the World Health Organization Regional Director for Europe after being nominated in September 2019 by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.
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Wu Rong-i

29. Wu Rong-i

1939-. (aged 87)
politician economist
Wu Rong-i is a Taiwanese economist and politician who served as the vice premier of the Republic of China from 2005 to 2006. He also served as Chairman of Taiwania Capital Management Corporation, the investment arm of Taiwan.
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Aster Berkhof

30. Aster Berkhof

1920-2020 (aged 100)
writer children's writer journalist university teacher
Lodewijk Paulina Van Den Bergh, known as Lode Van Den Bergh, also using the pseudonyms Aster Berkhof and Piet Visser, was a Belgian writer.
Baoshu

31. Baoshu

1980-. (aged 46)
science fiction writer writer translator
Li Jun, known by the pen name Baoshu (宝树), is a Chinese science fiction and fantasy writer. One of his books, Three Body X (published as The Redemption of Time in English), is an unofficial sequel to Death's End by Liu Cixin. Baoshu received his Master of Philosophy at Peking University, and a second master after studying at Katholieke Universiteit...
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Tomás Moulian

32. Tomás Moulian

1939-. (aged 87)
university teacher writer historian political scientist sociologist
Tomás Moulian Emparanza is a Chilean political scientist and sociologist. A Guggenheim Fellow and winner of the National Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences, he is known for being a critic of the socio-economic structure of his country after the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.
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Steven Vanackere

33. Steven Vanackere

1964-. (aged 62)
politician
Steven Vanackere is a Belgian politician from Flanders and member of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He held the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Institutional Reform in the Leterme II government. He is the son of Leo Vanackere, who, following a political career as a Member of the Chamber of...
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Gent Cakaj

34. Gent Cakaj

1990-. (aged 36)
civil servant
Gent Cakaj is a Kosovo-born Albanian politician, who served as the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania from 2019–2020.
Jo Vandeurzen

35. Jo Vandeurzen

1958-. (aged 68)
lawyer politician
Johan Maria Gerardus Vandeurzen is a Belgian politician, member of Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V), a centrist Flemish Christian Democratic party.
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Paul van Tigchelt

36. Paul van Tigchelt

1973-. (aged 53)
politician
Paul Van Tigchelt is a Belgian politician from Open VLD who served as the Federal Minister of Justice and the North Sea in the government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo from 22 October 2023 to 3 February 2025.
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Bambang Subianto

37. Bambang Subianto

1948-2022 (aged 74)
lecturer researcher economist
Bambang Subianto was an Indonesian academic and technocrat who served as Minister of Finance from 1998 to 1999. Before assuming the post of finance minister, Bambang worked in the Department of Finance for about a decade.
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Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga

38. Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga

1941-2020 (aged 79)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop
Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga, OFM Cap was the Indonesian Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Sibolga and then Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Medan from 2009 to 2018.
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Geert van Istendael

39. Geert van Istendael

1947-. (aged 79)
poet columnist writer translator journalist
Geert van Istendael is the pseudonym of Geert Maria Mauritius Julianus Vanistendael, a Belgian writer, poet and essayist. He studied sociology and philosophy at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. From 1987 until 1993, he worked as a journalist for the Belgian National Television and since 1993 he became a full-time writer. He is a brother of Frans Vanistendael. He is a...
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Saskia De Coster

40. Saskia De Coster

1976-. (aged 50)
columnist screenwriter writer editing staff lyricist
Saskia De Coster is a Belgian writer. She has published sixteen books as of 29 Jan 2022.
Paelabang Danapan

41. Paelabang Danapan

1953-. (aged 73)
politician
Paelabang Danapan, also known as Sun Ta-chuan (Chinese: 孫大川; pinyin: Sūn Dàchuān), is a Taiwanese sinologist and politician. He had served as Minister of the Council of Indigenous Peoples from 2009 to 2013 and Vice President of the Control Yuan from 2014 to 2020. Sun is a member of the Puyuma tribe in Taiwan, and is also a Roman Catholic.
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Luc Sels

42. Luc Sels

1967-. (aged 59)
author economist sociologist university teacher
Luc Sels is a Belgian sociologist who has served as the president of Leiden University since 1 November 2025. Previously, he served as rector of KU Leuven from August 2017 to August 2025.
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Annemie Turtelboom

43. Annemie Turtelboom

1967-. (aged 59)
politician
Annemie Turtelboom is a former Belgian minister, who served in the Federal Government of Belgium as a member of the Open VLD party, initially as minister for Asylum and Migration, and later Home Affairs and Justice. She has also served as minister of Finance, Budget and Energy in the Flemish Government. After leaving politics, she became the Belgian member of...
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Dan Zahavi

44. Dan Zahavi

1967-. (aged 59)
university teacher philosopher
Dan Zahavi is a Danish philosopher. He is professor of philosophy at the University of Copenhagen.
Paul De Grauwe

45. Paul De Grauwe

1946-. (aged 80)
economist university teacher columnist politician
Paul De Grauwe is a Belgian economist and John Paulson Professor in European Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science as head of the European Institute. He is also professor emeritus in international economics at KU Leuven and former member of the Belgian Federal Parliament.
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Thomas Leysen

46. Thomas Leysen

1960-. (aged 66)
director businessperson entrepreneur
Thomas Leysen is a Belgian entrepreneur who graduated from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven with a degree in law.
Kathleen Van Brempt

47. Kathleen Van Brempt

1969-. (aged 57)
politician
Kathleen Van Brempt is a Belgian social-democratic politician and member of Vooruit. She currently serves as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) as part of the Party of European Socialists and is leader of the local branch of her party in Antwerp.
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Sven Gatz

48. Sven Gatz

1967-. (aged 59)
politician zythologist
Sven Gatz is a Belgian politician for Anders (formerly Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats) who served as the Brussels Minister of Finance, Budget, Civil Service and Multilingualism in the government of the Brussels-Capital Region from 2019 to 2025.
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Lucas Van Looy

49. Lucas Van Looy

1941-. (aged 85)
Catholic priest emeritus bishop Catholic bishop theologian
Lucas Van Looy S.D.B. is a Belgian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Bishop of Ghent from 2004 to 2019. He worked as a missionary in South Korea for more than a decade and held leadership positions with the Salesians from 1984 to 2003.
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Marianne Thyssen

50. Marianne Thyssen

1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Marianne Leonie Petrus Thyssen is a Belgian politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish Party (CD&V) who served as European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility between 2014 and 2019.
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Pieter Abbeel

51. Pieter Abbeel

1977-. (aged 49)
professor artificial intelligence researcher entrepreneur
Pieter Abbeel is a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, Director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab, and co-director of the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the co-founder of Covariant, a venture-funded start-up that aims to teach robots new, complex skills, and co-founder of Gradescope, an online grading system that...
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Matthias Diependaele

52. Matthias Diependaele

1979-. (aged 47)
politician
Matthias Diependaele is a Belgian politician affiliated to the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) who is the current Minister-President of Flanders, having taken office in 2024. He additionally serves as the Flemish Minister for Economy, Innovation en Industry, External Affairs, Digitalisation, and Facility Management.
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Jinnih Beels

53. Jinnih Beels

1976-. (aged 50)
politician police officer
Jinnih Beels is a Belgian politician and member of the Chamber of Representatives. A member of Vooruit, she has represented Antwerp since June 2024.
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh

54. Abdollah Ramezanzadeh

1954-. (aged 72)
politician
Abdollah Ramezanzadeh is an Iranian academic, writer and politician.
Bertus Aafjes

55. Bertus Aafjes

1914-1993 (aged 79)
writer prose writer poet journalist
Lambertus Jacobus Johannes "Bertus" Aafjes was a Dutch poet noteworthy for his poems about resistance to German occupation during World War II.
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Christian Van Thillo

56. Christian Van Thillo

1962-. (aged 64)
businessperson
Christian Van Thillo is a Belgian businessman.
Joachim Coens

57. Joachim Coens

1966-. (aged 60)
politician
Joachim Coens is a Belgian politician and businessman who has served as the leader of Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams, a Christian democratic political party, since December 2019. Before politics, he had been managing director of the holding company for the Port de Bruges-Zeebruges.
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Annick De Ridder

58. Annick De Ridder

1979-. (aged 47)
lawyer politician
Annick De Ridder is a Belgian politician for the N-VA and a member of the Flemish Parliament.
Ercüment Tatlıoğlu

59. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu

1960-. (aged 66)
soldier
Ercüment Tatlıoğlu is a Turkish admiral who has been the 27th and current commander of the Turkish Naval Forces since 2022.
Caroline Gennez

60. Caroline Gennez

1975-. (aged 51)
politician political scientist
Caroline Gennez is a Belgian socialist politician who served as the Minister of Development Cooperation and Urban Policy in the De Croo Government from December 2022 until October 2024. She is a former chairwoman of the Socialist Party – Different (SP.A) in Flanders.
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Gwendolyn Rutten

61. Gwendolyn Rutten

1975-. (aged 51)
politician
Gwendolyn Angeline Albert Maria Rutten is a Belgian politician for Anders (formerly Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats) who served as its chairwoman until March 22, 2020. On 11 January 2017 she resigned from the Flemish Parliament in order to prepare her party for the local election of 2018.
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Koen Geens

62. Koen Geens

1958-. (aged 68)
jurist lawyer university teacher politician
Koen Geens is a Belgian jurist and politician of the Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V) who served as the Minister of Justice and as Deputy Prime Minister in the governments of Prime Ministers Charles Michel and Sophie Wilmès.
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Francesca Vanthielen

63. Francesca Vanthielen

1972-. (aged 54)
actor economist
Francesca Vanthielen is a Belgian television actress and host, radio presenter, and economist. She is probably best known internationally for playing the lead role in the Svalbard-set adventure film When the Light Comes (1998) and for hosting Sterren op de dansvloer (Dancing with the Stars) between 2005 and 2008. She has worked as a host on Radio TAM TAM (BRT),...
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Rik Torfs

64. Rik Torfs

1956-. (aged 70)
jurist university teacher columnist politician
Henri Maria Dymphna André Laurent "Rik" Torfs is a Belgian canon law scholar and media personality. He is a former Senator for the Christian Democratic and Flemish party in the Belgian Federal Parliament and a former Rector of the Catholic University of Leuven.
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Wallace Loh

65. Wallace Loh

1945-. (aged 81)
author educator academic administrator university teacher
Wallace Dao-kui Loh is an American university administrator. He was the president of the University of Maryland, College Park, from 2010 until 2020.
Helga Stevens

66. Helga Stevens

1968-. (aged 58)
lawyer politician
Helga Stevens is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) and member of the European Parliament since 2014. She is well known for her work fighting for the rights of people with disabilities.
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Augusta Chiwy

67. Augusta Chiwy

1921-2015 (aged 94)
nurse
Augusta Marie Chiwy was a Belgian nurse who was a volunteer during the Siege of Bastogne in 1944. She worked with the U.S. Army physician John Prior and with fellow Belgian nurse Renée Lemaire, treating injured soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge.
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Bart Somers

68. Bart Somers

1964-. (aged 62)
politician
Bartolomeus Jozef Lodewijk Rosalia "Bart" Somers is a Belgian, Flemish politician. He is currently the mayor of Mechelen.
Vincent Rijmen

69. Vincent Rijmen

1970-. (aged 56)
computer scientist cryptographer university teacher mathematician
Vincent Rijmen is a Belgian cryptographer and one of the two designers of the Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard. Rijmen is also the co-designer of the WHIRLPOOL cryptographic hash function, and the block ciphers Anubis, KHAZAD, Square, NOEKEON and SHARK.
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Pieter De Crem

70. Pieter De Crem

1962-. (aged 64)
politician
Pieter Frans Norbert Jozef Raymond De Crem is a Belgian politician and member of Christian Democratic and Flemish (CD&V). He has been a Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives since 1995. He headed the CD&V fraction in the Chamber of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. From 1995 to 2025, he was the mayor of Aalter in East Flanders. In...
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Vincent Van Quickenborne

71. Vincent Van Quickenborne

1973-. (aged 53)
politician
Vincent Paul Marie Van Quickenborne is a Belgian politician for Anders (formerly Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats) who served as Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo from 2020 to 2023.
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Koenraad Elst

72. Koenraad Elst

1959-. (aged 67)
journalist philosopher columnist writer Indologist
Koenraad Elst is a Belgian author, known primarily for his adherence to the Hindutva ideology and support of the Out of India theory, which is regarded as pseudo-historical by mainstream scholarship. Scholars accuse him of harboring Islamophobia.
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Bart Swings

73. Bart Swings

1991-. (aged 35)
speed skater inline speed skater
Bart Swings is a Belgian long track speed skater and inline speed skater. He is the 2022 Olympic champion on the speed skating mass start. Swings won Belgium's first gold medal in 74 years and is the first Belgian athlete ever to have won two medals in the Winter Olympics. In 2023 he won the Belgian National Sports Merit Award,...
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Kim Gevaert

74. Kim Gevaert

1978-. (aged 48)
athletics competitor sprinter
Kim Gevaert is a former sprinter and Olympic champion from Belgium.
Theo Francken

75. Theo Francken

1978-. (aged 48)
politician
Theo Francken is a Belgian politician who has been serving as the Minister of Defence and Foreign Trade in the De Wever government since February 2025. He previously was a member of the Chamber of Representatives between 2010 and 2025. He is a member of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), a conservative Flemish nationalist party.
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Len Sassaman

76. Len Sassaman

1980-2011 (aged 31)
computer scientist engineer cryptographer mathematician
Leonard Harris Sassaman was an American technologist, information privacy advocate, and the maintainer of the Mixmaster anonymous remailer code and operator of the randseed remailer. Much of his career gravitated towards cryptography and protocol development.
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Godfried Danneels

77. Godfried Danneels

1933-2019 (aged 86)
Catholic priest Catholic bishop university teacher theologian
Godfried Maria Jules Danneels was a Belgian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and the chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Belgium from 1979 to 2010. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.
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David Van Reybrouck

78. David Van Reybrouck

1971-. (aged 55)
prehistorian archaeologist university teacher columnist writer
David Grégoire Van Reybrouck is a Belgian cultural historian, archaeologist and author. He writes historical fiction, literary non-fiction, novels, poetry, plays and academic texts. He has received several awards for his works, which include Congo: The Epic History of a People and Revolusi.
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Roland Duchâtelet

79. Roland Duchâtelet

1946-. (aged 80)
engineer association football executive entrepreneur politician
Roland Duchâtelet is a Belgian businessman and politician. He is owner of various football clubs. He is the founder of the social-liberal political party Vivant in Belgium.
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Jan Peumans

80. Jan Peumans

1951-. (aged 75)
politician
Jan Peter Peumans is a Belgian politician from the Flemish province of Limburg. Being part of the Flemish Movement, he was at a young age already member of the Volksunie. He seated for that party in the Limburgish provincial council and is since 2004, a Flemish Parliament member for the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA). In July 2004, he opposed, as...
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Otto von Habsburg

81. Otto von Habsburg

1912-2011 (aged 99)
politician
Otto von Habsburg was the last crown prince of Austria-Hungary from 1916 until its dissolution in November 1918. In 1922, he became the pretender to the former thrones, head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, and sovereign of the (Austrian) Order of the Golden Fleece, upon the death of his father. He resigned as Sovereign of the Golden Fleece in 2000...
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Simon Mignolet

82. Simon Mignolet

1988-. (aged 38)
association football player
Simon Luc Hildebert Mignolet is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Belgian Pro League club Club Brugge.
Bart De Wever

83. Bart De Wever

1970-. (aged 56)
historian columnist politician
Bart Albert Liliane De Wever is a Belgian 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 Alliance (N-VA), a political party advocating for the transformation of Belgium into a confederal state. From January 2013 to February 2025, he was Mayor of...
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Herman Van Rompuy

84. Herman Van Rompuy

1947-. (aged 79)
politician economist
Herman Achille, Count Van Rompuy is a Belgian politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from 2008 to 2009, and later as the first permanent president of the European Council from 2009 to 2014.
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Selah Sue

85. Selah Sue

1989-. (aged 37)
singer-songwriter recording artist singer musician
Sanne Greet A. Putseys, known professionally as Selah Sue, is a Belgian musician and songwriter. Her debut album, Selah Sue (2011), was a major success, selling over 720,000 copies in Europe, 320,000 in France alone.
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Frank Vandenbroucke

86. Frank Vandenbroucke

1955-. (aged 71)
diplomat politician university teacher
Frank Ignace Georgette Vandenbroucke is a Belgian-Flemish academic and politician of Vooruit who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health and Social Affairs in both the De Croo government as well as the De Wever government since 2020.
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Yves Leterme

87. Yves Leterme

1960-. (aged 66)
diplomat politician
Yves Camille Désiré Leterme is a Belgian politician, a leader of the Christian Democratic and Flemish party (CD&V). He was the prime minister of Belgium from March 2008 to December 2008, and later from November 2009 to December 2011.
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Bashar Warda

88. Bashar Warda

1969-. (aged 57)
university teacher Catholic bishop Catholic priest
Bashar Matti Warda is an Iraqi Chaldean Catholic cleric and the current Archbishop of Erbil (in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq).
Édouard Ngirente

89. Édouard Ngirente

1973-. (aged 53)
minister economist politician
Édouard Ngirente is a Rwandan economist and politician. He is the former Prime Minister of Rwanda, from 30 August 2017 to 25 July 2025, having been appointed by the President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.
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Abdul Qadeer Khan

90. Abdul Qadeer Khan

1936-2021 (aged 85)
scientist theoretical physicist physicist engineer academic
Abdul Qadeer Khan NI & BAR, HI, FPAS was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan's atomic weapons program".
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Liesbeth Homans

91. Liesbeth Homans

1973-. (aged 53)
politician
Liesbeth Homans is a Belgian politician and is affiliated to New Flemish Alliance. She was elected as a member of the Flemish Parliament in 2009 and as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2010. She has served as Minister-president of Flanders and Speaker of the Flemish Parliament since 2019.
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Wouter Beke

92. Wouter Beke

1974-. (aged 52)
politician political scientist
Wouter Beke is a Belgian politician and a member of the CD&V. He was reelected as a member of the Belgian Senate in 2007. In 2014 he became a member of the Belgian Federal House of Representatives and was reelected in 2019. In July 2019 he succeeded Kris Peeters as Federal Minister for Work, Economy and Consumer affairs. He left...
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Jean-Luc Dehaene

93. Jean-Luc Dehaene

1940-2014 (aged 74)
politician
Jean Luc Joseph Marie "Jean-Luc" Dehaene 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", as well as "The Minesweeper", for his ability to negotiate political deadlocks.
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Koen Lenaerts

94. Koen Lenaerts

1954-. (aged 72)
university teacher lawyer judge jurist pedagogue
Koenraad Lenaerts, Baron Lenaerts is a Belgian jurist and the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union. He is also a Professor of European Law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and was a member of the Coudenberg group, a Belgian federalist think tank.
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Oliver Paasch

95. Oliver Paasch

1971-. (aged 55)
lawyer politician
Oliver Paasch is a Belgian politician of the German-speaking Pro Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft party and the incumbent Minister-president of the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
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Eva Brems

96. Eva Brems

1969-. (aged 57)
university teacher politician jurist human rights defender political activist
Eva Brems is a Belgian university professor, human rights defender and politician. She is a senior lecturer in human rights and non-Western law at Ghent University. Besides her academic engagements, Brems has also been politically active. From 2006 until 2010, she was the president of the Flemish division of Amnesty International. In the spring of 2010 she announced her candidacy...
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Mathias Cormann

97. Mathias Cormann

1970-. (aged 56)
politician
Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann is a Belgian-born Australian politician and diplomat who serves as Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), having assumed the office on 1 June 2021.
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Paul Bulcke

98. Paul Bulcke

1954-. (aged 72)
entrepreneur
Paul Bulcke is a Belgian businessman. He was CEO of Nestlé from 2008 to 2016. He has been chairman of Nestlé since 2017.
Louis-Philippe Loncke

99. Louis-Philippe Loncke

1977-. (aged 49)
explorer lecturer engineer
Louis-Philippe Loncke is a Belgian explorer, adventurer and motivational speaker. In 2008, he achieved the world first crossing on foot of the length of the Simpson Desert, which was a North to South traverse passing through its geographical center. In 2018, he traversed Tasmania during the austral winter without resupplies and was nicknamed the Mad Belgian by some Australians.
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Gloria Álvarez

100. Gloria Álvarez

1985-. (aged 41)
writer television presenter political scientist announcer
Gloria Álvarez Cross is a Guatemalan radio and television presenter, author, and libertarian political commentator. She is the host of the Viernes de Gloria radio program in Guatemala. Álvarez is also the program director of the National Civic Movement of Guatemala, an organization that advocates for political participation in the national politics of Guatemala. She has also published books on...
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