In 1990 he was elected president of International PEN serving until 1993, and in 1997 he was the first non-German to become president of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.
In 1990 he was elected president of PEN International, the worldwide association of writers and oldest human rights organsiation, serving until 1993. In 1997 he was the first non-German to become president of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.