Professor Jaap de Zwaan retired from Erasmus School of Law of the Erasmus University Rotterdam in March 2014. He had been a highly valued colleague for over 16 years. Following a career in the legal profession and almost 20 years at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Professor De Zwaan opted for the academic world in 1998. From his appointment on 1 January 1998 until becoming a professor emeritus on 14 March 2014, he was Professor of European Law at Erasmus University Rotterdam. As holder of this chair, he made major contributions to the education and research of the law school. Professor De Zwaan, a highly regarded lecturer, ensured that European law was given the prominent place in the curriculum that it continues to have today. As a researcher, he published many works on European integration and supervised many doctoral candidates. Reflecting his passion for European integration, from 1998 to 2014, Professor De Zwaan also held the Jean Monnet Chair in Future Developments of the European Union.