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Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,688 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.4 million. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège.
Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although the Brussels Capital Region has an independent regional government, and the government of Flanders only oversees the community aspects of Flanders life in Brussels such as (Flemish) culture and education.
Ghent is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the second largest municipality in Belgium, after Antwerp. The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Late Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300. It is a port and university city.
Leopold II was King of the Belgians from 1865 to 1909. Born in Brussels as the second but eldest surviving son of Leopold I and Louise of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the Belgian throne in 1865 and reigned for 44 years until his death – the longest reign of any Belgian monarch. He died without surviving sons. The current Belgian king descends from his nephew and successor, Albert I.
Leopold III was King of the Belgians from 1934 until 1951, when he abdicated in favour of the heir apparent, his son Baudouin. From 1944 until 1950, Leopold's brother, Charles, served as prince regent while Leopold was declared unable to reign. Leopold's controversial actions during the Second World War resulted in a political crisis known as the Royal Question. In 1950, the debate about whether Leopold could resume his royal functions escalated. Following a referendum, Leopold was allowed to return from exile to Belgium, but the continuing political instability pressured him to abdicate in 1951.
The Monarchy of Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy of Belgium whose incumbent is titled the King or Queen of the Belgians and serves as the country's head of state. There have been seven Belgian monarchs since independence in 1830.
Albert II reigned as King of the Belgians, from 1993 until his abdication in 2013.
Philippe or Filip is King of the Belgians, having ascended the throne on 21 July 2013, following his father's abdication. He is the eldest child of King Albert II, whom he succeeded upon Albert's abdication for health reasons, and Queen Paola. He married Countess Mathilde d'Udekem d'Acoz, with whom he has four children. King Philippe's elder daughter, Princess Elisabeth, is first in the line of succession.
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, Walloon Government and administration.
Queen Mathilde of Belgium is the wife of King Philippe, who ascended the throne following the abdication of his father, King Albert II, on 21 July 2013. She is the first Belgian-born Queen of the Belgians.
The Université libre de Bruxelles, abbreviated ULB, is a French-speaking private research university in Brussels, Belgium.
Jean-Marie Pfaff is a Belgian former football goalkeeper who spent most of his professional career with Beveren and Bayern Munich. Pfaff was capped 64 times playing for Belgium, and participated at the 1982 FIFA World Cup and 1986 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
The Belgian national football team has officially represented Belgium in international football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—both of which were co-founded by the Belgian team's supervising body, the Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB/URBSFA/KBFV). Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, from 1982 to 2002 and again from 2014 onwards, have alternated with mostly unsuccessful qualification rounds. Most of Belgium's home matches are played at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
Paul Van Himst is a retired Belgian football forward and a football manager. Now retired, he still supports R.S.C. Anderlecht, his former team.
Belgian citizenship is based on a mixture of the principles of jus sanguinis and jus soli. In other words, both place of birth and Belgian parentage are relevant for determining whether a person is a Belgian citizen. It is regulated by the Code of Belgian Nationality.
The Belgium national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. Their biggest successes were winning the 2007–09 International Challenge Trophy and reaching the European Championship semi-finals in 2007 in the Netherlands. Thanks to the latter achievement, Belgium qualified for the football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Their current home stadium is Den Dreef in Leuven.
Liège is a major Walloon city and municipality and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège.
Antwerp is a city in Belgium, and is the capital of Antwerp province in Flanders. With a population of 520,504, it is the most populous city proper in Belgium, and with a metropolitan area housing around 1,200,000 people, it's the second largest metropolitan region after Brussels in Belgium.
Divock Okoth Origi is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liverpool and the Belgium national team. He is the son of former Kenyan professional footballer Mike Origi.
Sophie Wilmès is a Belgian politician who currently serves as Prime Minister of Belgium. She is the first female head of government of Belgium.