Douwe Durk Breimer and Annemieke Galema appointed as members of the Fryske Akademy

(The laudatory speeches were written and delivered on Akademy Day by Rev. Liuwe Westra. A short excerpt follows.)

Among the highlights of Breimer’s academic career is his appointment as Professor of Pharmacology at Leiden University in 1975. He served as Vice-Chancellor of that same university from 2001 to 2007. In 2016, Breimer chaired the evaluation committee of the Supervisory Board of the Fryske Akademy on behalf of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

Douwe Durk Breimer (born in Oudemirdum, resident in Oegstgeest)

Among the highlights of Breimer’s academic career is his appointment as Professor of Pharmacology at Leiden University in 1975. He served as Vice-Chancellor of that same university from 2001 to 2007. In 2016, Breimer chaired the evaluation committee of the Supervisory Board of the Fryske Akademy on behalf of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW).

“What makes Douwe Breimer special is that he has not only built up a classical academic track record, but has also been – and continues to be – involved in new academic initiatives, such as Campus Fryslân in Leeuwarden, as well as the Academy of Franeker. It is precisely this combination of fresh impetus from the region on the one hand and rigorous academic standards on the other that makes the Fryske Akademy an institution he cannot – and does not wish to – ignore.”

Annemieke Galema (born in Burgwerd, living in Winsum Gr.)|

Galema is a socio-economic historian. After graduating, she conducted research in America into the migration history of the Dutch and thus became fascinated by the migration stories of the Frisians. Until her retirement, she was Director of Valorisation and Innovation at the University of Groningen and Chair of Northern Knowledge.

“As a pioneer for Leeuwarden and Fryslân as the European Capital of Culture in 2018, as the founder of the University of Groningen Campus Fryslân, and not least as a quiet ambassador for the Fryske Akademy, she has ensured that there is now a steady flow of curious, ambitious and open-minded global citizens coming this way, from which all Frisians stand to benefit.”

The Fryske Akademy Thesis Prize 2024–2026 has been awarded to Jorris Kingma (Ried/Leeuwarden). As part of the History programme at the University of Groningen, he wrote his Master’s thesis for the research-based Master’s programme in ‘Classical, Medieval and Early Modern Studies’, entitled ‘Sediments, salt marshes and society: On the interaction between man and environment in the clay region of Westergo between 850 and 1250 CE’. Kingma graduated cum laude in 2025. The Fryske Akademy Thesis Prize consists of a certificate and a cash prize of €1,000.

An honourable mention was awarded to Louw Biesma (Opeinde). As part of the Linguistics programme at the University of Groningen, he completed the Master’s programme in Theoretical and Empirical Linguistics. He wrote his thesis entitled ‘A control approach to the imperativus pro infinitivo construction in West Frisian’. Biesma graduated in 2026.