Historian Jeroen Duindam receives Austrian Cross of Honour for Arts and Sciences first class
On June 14th, Jeroen Duindam, Professor of History at the Faculty of Humanities, was awarded an exceptionally high distinction for his achievements in the field of Austrian history.
Duindam received the Austrian Cross of Honour for Arts and Sciences first class from the Ambassador of Austria, Dr. Heidemaria Gürer. The award ceremony took place at the Faculty Club of Leiden University, where the ambassador had previously attended a meeting of the Foundation for Austrian Studies.
Second highest award
Duindam’s nomination comes from a circle surrounding the Foundation for Austrian Studies. As a highly committed board member, Duindam is being honoured particularly for his role within the Humanities Faculty, where he was director of the chair for Central European Studies (with special attention to Austria) for seven years, from 2010 until the arrival of Professor by special appointment Monica Baár in 2017. ‘In this role he has also welcomed many guest lecturers with great hospitality,’ says Mr. Weiland, who founded the foundation 31 years ago. Hugo Weiland, honorary chairman since last year, current chairman Dr. Steven Engelsman, and secretary of the foundation, Dr. Patrick Dassen, received immediate support from Austria for their initiative to nominate Duindam, which led to the award of the Cross of Honour 1st class, the second highest decoration in the Austrian scientific community.
Comparative History
‘Laudatorin' Marija Wakounig, Professor of Eastern European history at the University of Vienna, who had come to Leiden for the occasion, has known Duindam for quite some time. She presented Duindam’s thirty-years academic career in a nutshell, highlighting his versatility, perfect level of proficiency of Austrian-German, passion for research and education, and international publications. Professor Wakounig was also full of praise for Jeroen's reliability and boundless international efforts, from numerous guest lectures to his recurring contributions to the annual conventions of the eight Austria Centres that exist worldwide.
Duindam’s work has been focused on the comparative history of courts and rulers. In 2003 he produced an ambitious comparison of the imperial court in Vienna and the royal court in Versailles, More recently he moved to a global comparative level, with Dynasties. A Global History of Power 1300-1800 (Cambridge 2016). Later this year, Oxford University Press will publish Duindam’s accessible booklet about dynasty and power from ancient Egypt to the twenty-first century: Dynasty. A very short Introduction.
Duindam, a finalist for last year’s Faculty of Humanities’ Teaching Prize, was visibly pleased. In his acceptance speech he connected the distinction to his own field of research: ‘For many years, I have studied monarchical distribution of honours, now, to my surprise, I am myself a recipient’.
Jeroen Duindam is a Professor of History at the Faculty of Humanities at Leiden University.
Auf Deutsch
Am 14. Juni erhielt Prof. dr. Jeroen Duindam eine sehr hohe österreichische Auszeichnung für den Einsatz um die österreichische Geschichte. Er erhielt das Österreichische Ehrenkreuz für Wissenschaft und Kunst 1. Klasse von der Botschafterin der Republik Österreich, Dr. Heidemaria Gürer.
Die Preisverleihung fand in der Faculty Club der Universität Leiden statt, im Kreis von Verwandten, Freund/innen und Kolleg/innen der Fakultät Geisteswissenschaften und der Stichting Oostenrijkse Studiën.
Die Laudatio für Jeroen Duindam von Prof.dr. Marija Wakounig finden Sie hier.
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‘Laudatorin’ Professor Marija Wakounig (right) congratulates Duindam -
Duindam (right) with the Ambassador of Austra, Dr. Heidemaria Gürer (left) -
Hugo Weiland (photo) nominated Jeroen Duindam for the Austrian Cross of Honour for Arts and Sciences first class