Wim Blockmans
Willem Pieter Blockmans (born 26 May 1945, Antwerp, Belgium) was Professor of Medieval History at Leiden University between 1987 and 2010. He earned a PhD from the University of Ghent. He has been Rector of the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study since September 2002. He has published extensively on late medieval and early modern state power. Blockmans was elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1990. In 1996 he was elected a member of the Academia Europaea. Blockmans was elected a corresponding Fellow of the British Academy in 2003. In 2008 he  was made Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion. His retirement was marked with two Festschriften, "Power and Persuasion: Essays on the Art of State Building in Honour of W.P. Blockmans", edited by Peter Hoppenbrouwers, Antheun Janse and Robert Stein (Turnhout, Brepols, 2010), and "Bourgondië voorbij: De Nederlanden, 1250–1650. Liber alumnorum Wim Blockmans", edited by Mario Damen and Louis Sicking (Hilversum, Verloren, 2010).