Dr W.J.J. Honselaar (1947) has been appointed endowed Professor of Cultural Relations between the Netherlands and Eastern Europe in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). The chair was provided by Pegasus Publishing Company and Booksellers (Stichting Uitgeverij en Boekhandel Pegasus).

As professor by special appointment, Wim Honselaar will focus on research and teaching concerning cultural relations between the Netherlands and the nations of Eastern Europe, with particular emphasis on bilingual lexicography - its organising principles, and the creation and use of bilingual dictionaries. Dictionaries are an indispensable tool when it comes to translating to and from foreign languages, making them the logical basis for intercultural contacts and exchange. Honselaar's activities will include lecturing within the Slavic Languages & Cultures and European Studies study programmes; these lectures are open to all Humanities students with an interest in lexicography.

Honselaar has worked at the UvA since 1972; since 1986 as Senior University Lecturer in Slavic Linguistics. He also serves in various advisory and management capacities within and outside the UvA; he is, for instance, member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Netherlands Institute in Saint-Petersburg. In 2003, Honselaar was awarded the MAPRYAL's (the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature) Pushkin medal in recognition of his Russian-Dutch dictionary, or Groot Russisch-Nederlands Woordenboek.