26 Notable alumni of University of Namur
Updated: May 27, 2026 EliteDegrees
University of Namur is ranked #1,035 in the world and #9 in Belgium by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 26 notable alumni from University of Namur sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with University of Namur won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Michel Bierlaire
1967-. (aged 59)
mathematician
Michel Bierlaire is a Belgian-Swiss applied mathematician specialising in transportation systems. He is Professor of Operations Research at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and directs the university’s Transport and Mobility Laboratory.
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2. Henri Bogaert
1948-. (aged 78)
economist
Henri Bogaert, born on April 22, 1948, is a Belgian economist. From 1993 to 2014, he has been director of the Belgian Federal Planning Bureau and, until he retired in 2017, he was also professor of economic policy at the University of Namur.
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3. John Patrick Farrelly
1856-1921 (aged 65)
Catholic priest
Catholic bishop
John Patrick Farrelly was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland in Ohio from 1909 until his death in 1921.
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4. Eugène Lafont
1837-1908 (aged 71)
Catholic priest
missionary
physicist
lecturer
Eugène Lafont, S.J., was a Belgian Jesuit priest, who became a missionary in India, where he became a noted scientist and the founder of the first Scientific Society in India.
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5. Betty Batoul
1964-. (aged 62)
non-fiction writer
human rights defender
Betty Batoul Ben el Hiouel, alias Betty Batoul is a Belgian–Moroccan writer of French language and a dynamic human rights activist in Belgium and Morocco, more specifically in the fight against violence against women and sexual child abuse. She was born in Ixelles, Belgium.
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6. Bernard de Give
1913-2020 (aged 107)
linguist
Latin Catholic monk
Catholic priest
theologian
philosopher
Bernard de Give was a Belgian priest and writer who became a monk of Scourmont Abbey.
7. Jean-Pierre De Bandt
1934-. (aged 92)
lawyer
Jean-Pierre, Baron de Bandt is a Belgian lawyer and former President of the Coudenberg group, a Belgian federalist think tank.
8. Henri Depelchin
1822-1900 (aged 78)
Catholic priest
missionary
Henri Joseph Depelchin, SJ, was a Belgian Jesuit priest and missionary in India and Africa. As a missionary, he was the first superior of the failed Zambesi Mission in Africa and the founder and first superior of the West Bengal Mission in India. As an educator, he was the founder and first director of three major colleges in India.
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9. Léopold Genicot
1914-1995 (aged 81)
historian
archivist
university teacher
Léopold Genicot was a Belgian historian and medievalist and an activist for the Walloon Movement. He established a centre for the study of rural history and an influential series of guides to medieval historical sources.
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10. Jean-Luc Brédas
1954-. (aged 72)
researcher
chemist
Jean-Luc Brédas is an American chemist, working at the University of Arizona. He was born in Fraire, Belgium, on 23 May 1954.
11. Elie Melia
1915-1988 (aged 73)
historian
religious leader
theologian
Eastern Orthodox priest
Fr. Elie Melia was a Georgian Orthodox priest in France and church historian.
12. Oly Ilunga Kalenga
1960-. (aged 66)
physician
minister
politician
Oly Ilunga Kalenga is a Belgian–Congolese medical doctor who was the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Minister of Public Health from 2016 to 2019. He resigned his post on 22 July 2019, then was arrested on 14 September 2019 for allegedly mismanaging a portion of Congo's $4.3 million in Ebola response money, an allegation that he denies.
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13. Andries Van den Abeele
1935-. (aged 91)
historian
politician
Andries Maurice Jean Marie Baron Van den Abeele is a Belgian historian historical preservationist, and former entrepreneur, politician, and employers' organization chairman.
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14. 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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15. 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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16. André-Joseph Léonard
1940-. (aged 86)
Catholic bishop
writer
Catholic priest
university teacher
theologian
André-Joseph Léonard is a Belgian Catholic retired prelate who served as the Archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels and Primate of Belgium from 2010 to 2015. He previously served as Bishop of Namur from 1991 until 2010 under the name André-Mutien Léonard.
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17. 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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18. Philippe Maystadt
1948-2017 (aged 69)
jurist
lawyer
university teacher
financier
politician
Philippe M.P.J. Maystadt was a Belgian politician who served as Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of Finance, and Deputy Prime Minister. He was President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) from 2000 to 2011.
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19. Melchior Wathelet, Jr
1977-. (aged 49)
jurist
lawyer
politician
Melchior Wathelet is a Belgian politician, Secretary of State of Environment, Energy, Mobility and Institutional Reforms, and member of the Centre démocrate humaniste (cdH). His father is Melchior Wathelet. He followed part of his secondary education in Dutch at a school in Bilzen, Limburg. After a degree in law from the Catholic University of Louvain and a Master of European...
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20. Jean Capart
1877-1947 (aged 70)
art historian
egyptologist
jurist
Jean Capart was a Belgian Egyptologist, who is often considered the "Father of Belgian Egyptology".
21. 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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22. Louis Godart
1945-. (aged 81)
anthropologist
archaeologist
classical philologist
university teacher
Louis Godart is an Italian archaeologist of Belgian origins. He is a specialist in Mycenaean archaeology and philology and holds the chair of philology at the University of Naples Federico II. He is also currently Director for the Conservation of Artistic Heritage of the Italian President.
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23. Gérard Cooreman
1852-1926 (aged 74)
jurist
lawyer
politician
Gérard François Marie Cooreman (25 March 1852 – 2 December 1926) was a Belgian Catholic Party politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium from June to November 1918.
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24. Alessandro Morbidelli
1966-. (aged 60)
researcher
docent
astronomer
Alessandro Morbidelli is an Italian astronomer and planetary scientist who is currently employed by the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur in Nice. Morbidelli specialises in Solar System dynamics, especially planetary formation and migration and the structure of the asteroid and Kuiper belts.
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25. Paul Janssen
1926-2003 (aged 77)
physician
Paul Adriaan Jan, Baron Janssen was a Belgian physician. He was the founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica, a pharmaceutical company with over 20,000 employees which became a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
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26. 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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