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The Belgian nobility comprises individuals and their families recognized by the Kingdom of Belgium as members of a class of persons officially enjoying hereditary privileges which distinguished them from other persons and families. ==Characteristics== The Belgian nobility is known to be mostly Roman Catholic, traditionalist, and royalist. Living in a bilingual Dutch- and French-speaking country with a majority of Dutch-speaking people, historically the mother tongue of most is French, although many are also fluent in Dutch and other languages. In the Kingdom of Belgium there were approximately 1,300 noble families, with some 20,000 members. The noble lineage of only approximately 400 families dates back to the 17th century or earlier. As Belgium is a democratic constitutional monarchy there are no legal privileges attached to bearing a noble title or to being a member of the aristocracy. Most noble surnames have the particle 'de' (French for of/from) or the Dutch 'van' as a prefix. Most nobles in Belgium still belong to the elite of society. They sometimes own and manage companies, or have leading positions in business, banking, diplomacy, NGOs etc. Many of the older families still own (and reside in) important castles or country houses (see: Castles in Belgium). Belgium is one of the few monarchies in the world in which ennoblement still occurs. Hereditary titles are conferred by letters patent, which are annually issued by the King of the Belgians. Belgian citizens distinguished in business, politics, science, arts, sports, etc. or for extraordinary service to the Kingdom receive noble status or noble titles. Examples include Ilya Prigogine (chemist, Nobel Laureate; made ''viscount'' in 1989), Paul Janssen (entrepreneur; made ''baron'' in 1990), Pierre Harmel (politician, Prime Minister of Belgium; made ''count'' in 1991), Dirk Frimout (astronaut; made ''viscount'' in 1992), Eddy Merckx (cyclist; made ''baron'' in 1996), Patrick d'Udekem d'Acoz (royal father-in-law; made ''count'' in 1999), Frank De Winne (astronaut; made ''viscount'' in 2002), Jacques Rogge (President of the International Olympic Committee; made ''count'' in 2002), Gerard Mortier (opera director; made ''baron'' in 2007), Ingrid Daubechies (physicist and mathematician; made ''baroness'' in 2012), and Paul Buysse (manager; made ''count'' in 2014). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Belgian nobility」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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