---
title: "Francqui Prize"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francqui_Prize"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:09:08.438872+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

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
2024: Veronique Van Speybroeck
2025: Ine Van Hoyweghen


== See also ==
University Foundation
Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF)
List of general science and technology awards
List of social sciences awards


== References ==


== External links ==
Francqui foundation
Laureates of the Francqui Prize Archived 2017-04-09 at the Wayback Machine (in French)