 He was awarded the Goethe Prize of the English Goethe Society (1977) and a Stipend of the Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel (1979, 1985, 1990).He was a joint honorary secretary of the English Goethe Society (1986–2004) and a council member of the International Goethe Society (1995–2003).For ten years he was founding chairman of the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust (1996–2006).