Derek Hopwood, the co-founder, former president and Honorary Member of the European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES), died 23 March 2020

Derek Hopwood, the co-founder, former president and Honorary Member of the European Association for Middle Eastern Studies (EURAMES), died 23 March 2020.

Together with André Raymond, he was the driving force to establish EURAMES in 1990 as an „umbrella“ for the national societies engaged in Middle Eastern and North African studies in European countries. In 1992, Derek Hopwood took over the presidency of EURAMES and held this position until 1998. He contributed significantly to the opening of the national borders and the flow of information between scholars engaged in Middle Eastern studies. For his merits in promoting EURAMES he was awarded the title of Honorary Member of this association.

Derek Hopwood was an Emeritus Fellow of St Antony`s College, Oxford, where he had been the director of the Middle East Centre (MEC). He was also the founding president of the Middle East Libraries Committee and holder of the BRISMES Award (2003) for his services to Middle Eastern studies in Britain. He held visiting professorships at several international universities, such as University of Provence, University of Khartoum, Ain Shams University, and University of Pennsylvania.

Derek will live on in the memories of his colleagues, students and numerous scholars worldwide.