King Albert Declares Belgium's New Prime Minister

On December 21th, the Belgian government crisis was resolved temporarily. An interim government was formed as King Albert of the Belgians declared Guy Verhofstadt, Belgium’s new Prime Minister. Six months have passed since the elections were held and the previous government was dissolved. In spite of his ill health, the king has intervened and negotiated with ministers to form a new government, but to no avail.

Finally, after much persuasion by Guy Verhofstadt, appointed negotiator by the king, the fractured five parties agreed to an interim government on December 20th. The newly formed cabinet consists of four Flemish liberals, four Francophone socialists, one Francophone Christian democrat, two Francophone liberals and four Flemish Christian democrats.

On Friday afternoon, the prime minister presented a ten-point plan. On Sunday, the Belgian parliament approved the interim government by 97 votes. It is the hope of Mr. Verhofstadt that Yves Leterme (Flemish Christian democrat) will take the reins of powers at the end of March.

Belgian's Princess Astrid Participates in Mine Ban Convention

Before her untimely death in August 1997, Diana, the Princess of Wales, reached out to the victims of land mine explosions in Angola and Bosnia despite drawing political controversy with her humanitarian efforts.

Since that time, The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction was established on September 18, 1997. That same year on December 3rd, the Convention of Ottawa was signed by representatives exceeding 100 states “thereby expressing their determination to put an end to the suffering and casualties caused by anti-personnel mines.”

It is not a forgotten cause. The Convention is celebrating its 10th anniversary and 155 states have gathered in Jordan to continue the work of banning land mines. As part of the Belgian delegation, King Albert’s daughter, Princess Astrid, departed for Amman yesterday to take part in the Eighth Meeting of the States Parties Mine Ban Convention. She was greeted by Prince Miraad Bin Raad upon her arrival. The convention is set for November 18th to November 22nd. This is the first time that the convention has met in the Middle East. In a letter greeting to the delegates of the convention, Prince Miraad reminded them of their commitment to ridding the world of land mines and wrote: “It will be a time for all States Parties to reflect upon what they have achieved in the last decade and what still remains to be completed. In general, great progress has been made in ridding the world of anti-personnel mines yet many challenges remain. As States Parties, we must maintain our stamina and not lose sight of our ultimate goal... that of a 'mine free world.' To this end, mine affected countries must wholeheartedly recommit themselves to this cause and donor interest must be sustained in the long term.”

Photo: Petra

Princess Mathilde's Baby Due in the Spring 2008

The Belgian Monarchy has issued the news that Princess Mathilde is expecting her fourth child in the spring 2008. Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde have three children, Elisabeth, Gabriel and Emmanuel. Elisabeth is five years old and heir to the throne after her father. Gabriel is four years old and Emmanuel, the youngest, just turned two years old today.

In the announcement, King Albert, Queen Paola, the Royal Family and the family of Princess Mathilde expressed their happiness for the royal couple.

Lord Nicholas Windsor and Paola Welcome Baby Albert

According to the columnist Richard Kay from The Daily Mail, Paola gave birth to Albert, twelve days ago at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Lord Nicholas is the third and youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent. He and Paola named Albert after the consort of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert. The baby is the eight grandchild for the Duke and Duchess of Kent.

*UPDATE* The full name and birth date of Albert, the son of Lord Nicholas, is Albert Louis Philip Edward and he was born on September 22, 2007.