Francqui Prize

The Francqui Prize is a prestigious Belgian scholarly and scientific prize named after Émile Francqui. Normally annually since 1933, the Francqui Foundation awards it in recognition of the achievements of a scholar or scientist, who at the start of the year still had to be under 50. It currently represents a sum of 250,000 Euros and is awarded in the following three-year rotation of subjects: exact sciences, social sciences or humanities, and biological or medical sciences.

Proposed candidates must be associated with a Belgian academic institution, in the case of a foreigner for at least ten years. The recipient is selected by a jury of eight to 14 members, none of whom may be associated with a Belgian institution. The members of the international jury vote by secret letter, and the laureate they recommend must be supported by two thirds of the assembled directors of the foundation (with a quorum of 12) or no prize would be awarded that year.

The prize is meant to encourage the further work of the young laureate, rather than crown the latter's career. Recipients are asked to organise an international colloquium in the appropriate discipline the same year that he is awarded the prize, which usually leads to an international publication which enables the quality of Belgian university research to be more widely appreciated.

Laureates of the Francqui Prize

 * 1933: Henri Pirenne
 * 1934: Georges Lemaître
 * 1936: Franz Cumont
 * 1938: Jacques Errera
 * 1940: Pierre Nolf
 * 1946: François-L. Ganshof
 * 1946: Frans-H. van den Dungen
 * 1946: Marcel Florkin
 * 1948: Léon H. Dupriez
 * 1948: Marc de Hemptinne
 * 1948: Zénon-M. Bacq
 * 1948: Pol Swings
 * 1948: Jean Brachet
 * 1949: Léon Rosenfeld
 * 1950: Paul Harsin
 * 1951: Henri Koch
 * 1952: Florent Bureau
 * 1953: Claire Preaux
 * 1953: Etienne Lamotte
 * 1954: Raymond Jeener
 * 1955: Ilya Prigogine (Nobel Prize Chemistry 1977)
 * 1956: Louis Remacle
 * 1957: Lucien Massart
 * 1958: Léon Van Hove
 * 1959: Gérard Garitte
 * 1960: Christian de Duve (Nobel Prize Medicine 1974)
 * 1961: Adolphe Van Tiggelen
 * 1961: Jules Duchesne
 * 1962: Chaïm Perelman
 * 1963: Hubert Chantrenne
 * 1964: Paul Ledoux
 * 1965: Roland Mortier
 * 1966: Henri G. Hers
 * 1967: José J. Fripiat
 * 1968: Jules Horrent
 * 1969: Isidoor Leusen
 * 1970: Radu Balescu
 * 1971: Georges Thines
 * 1972: Jean-Edouard Desmedt
 * 1973: Pierre Macq
 * 1974: Raoul van Caenegem
 * 1975: René Thomas
 * 1976: Walter Fiers
 * 1977: Jacques Taminiaux
 * 1978: Jacques Nihoul
 * 1979: Jozef Schell
 * 1980: Jozef IJsewijn
 * 1981: André Trouet
 * 1982: François Englert (Nobel Prize Physics 2013)
 * 1983: Alexis Jacquemin
 * 1984: Désiré Collen
 * 1985: Amand Lucas
 * 1986: Marc Wilmet
 * 1987: Jacques Urbain
 * 1988: Pierre van Moerbeke
 * 1989: Pierre Pestieau
 * 1990: Thierry Boon
 * 1991: Jean-Marie Andre
 * 1992: Géry van Outryve d'Ydewalle
 * 1993: Gilbert Vassart
 * 1994: Eric G. Derouane
 * 1995: Claude d'Aspremont Lynden
 * 1996: Etienne Pays
 * 1997: Jean-Luc Brédas
 * 1998: Mathias Dewatripont
 * 1999: Marc Parmentier
 * 2000: Marc Henneaux
 * 2000: Eric Remacle and Paul Magnette (Exceptional Francqui Prize for European Research)
 * 2001: Philippe Van Parijs
 * 2002: Peter Carmeliet
 * 2003: Michel Van Den Bergh
 * 2004: Marie-Claire Foblets
 * 2005: Dirk Inzé
 * 2006: Pierre Gaspard
 * 2007: François de Callataÿ
 * 2008: Michel A. J. Georges
 * 2009: Eric Lambin
 * 2010: François Maniquet
 * 2011: Pierre Vanderhaegen
 * 2012: Conny Aerts
 * 2013: Olivier De Schutter
 * 2014: Bart Lambrecht
 * 2015: Stefaan Vaes
 * 2016: Barbara Baert
 * 2017: Steven Laureys
 * 2018: Frank Verstraete
 * 2019: Laurens Cherchye, Bram De Rock and Frederic Vermeulen
 * 2020: Cédric Blanpain + Bart Loeys
 * 2021: Michaël Gillon
 * 2022: Veerle Rots
 * 2023: Sarah-Maria Fendt and Philippe Lemey